t.x  LibTti 
C.  K.  OGDEN 


C'' 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


The  Street  of  Ink 


o 


The  Street  of  Ink 


An  Intimate  History  of  Journalism 


By 

H.  Simonis 


With     Eighty    Portraits 
and    other    Illustrations 


Cassell  and  Company,  Ltd 

London,  New  York,  Toronto  and  Melbourne 

1917 


First  Printed  March  i6th,   1917. 
Second  Impression  March  22nd,  1917. 
Third  Impression  March  29th,  1917. 
Fourth  Impression,  April  3rd,  1917. 


SWA- 


To 
ERNEST    PARKE 

In  token  of 

many  delightful   memories 

and  of 

a  debt  of  gratitude 

that  has  grown  with  every  succeeding  year 


FOREWORDS 

by 
Lord    Northcliffe    and    Lord    Burnham 


Printing  House  Square, 
London,    E.G. 

It  is  kind  and  characteristic 
of  Mr.  Simonis  in  the  midst 
of  a  very  busy  hfe,  to  try 
and  get  together  data  about 
the  newspapers  of  191 7.  Such 
parts  of  the  book  as  I  have 
read  are  fascinating,  and  I 
beheve  that  it  will  prove 
of  great  assistance  to  future 
historians   of  the    Press. 


Fleet  Street, 

London,    E.C, 


For  three  generations  my 
family  have  lived  in  the 
Street  of  Ink  for  the  best 
part  of  their  lives,  and,  there- 
fore, its  story  is  to  me  of 
absorbing  interest.  Our  office 
is  full  of  the  memories  of 
great  journalists,  who  came 
and  went  day  by  day,  mostly 
for  many  years,  as  they  had 
come  and  gone  through  the  old 
building  it  replaced. 

It  was  a  sound  instinct  to  have 
put  Delane  among  the  makers 
of  Victorian  England,  and  none 
can  understand  the  political  and 
social  life  of  the  Empire  to-day 
— the  History  of  the  Present — 
without  they  know  something 
of  the  journals  and  the  jour- 
nalists who  proclaim  its  ideals, 
echo  its  thoughts,  and  stimulate 
its  activities. 

Your  book  will,  I  think,  be 
important  and  useful  to  those 
who  wish  to  read  aright  the 
meaning  of  this  tremendous 
epoch. 


CONTENTS 

Introduction 

CHAPTKR 

I.  Early  Reminiscences.    My  Start  in  the  Street  of 
Ink 


2.  The  Birth  of  the  Popular  Press,     Old  and  New 

Journalism g 

3.  The  Times         ........  23 

4.  The  Morning  Post    .......  33 

5.  The  Daily  Telegraph          ......  39 

6.  The  Daily  News       .         ...         .         .         .         .46 

7.  The  Daily  Mail  and  the  Evening  News  ...  59 

8.  The  Daily  Chronicle  and  Lloyd's  Weekly  Neics  .         .  68 

9.  The  Daily  Express   .......  76 

10.  Some  Picture  Papers  :    the  Daily  Mirror  and  the 

Sunday  Pictorial       ......       79 

11.  Hulton's  :    the  Daily  Sketch  and  the  Sunday  Herald      86 

12.  The  London  Evening  Papers  :    the  Globe,  the  West- 

minster Gazette,  the  Evening  Standard,  the  Pall  Mall 
Gazette,  and  the  Star  .....       94 

I  J.  The  London  Financial  and  Sporting  Papers  :  the 
Financial  Times,  the  Financial  News,  the  Sporting 
Life  and  the  Sportsman    .  .  .  .  .110 

14.  The  London  Sunday  Newspapers  :  the  Observer,  the 
Sunday  Times,  the  News  of  the  World,  the  Weekly 
Dispatch,  the  Referee,  the  People,  Reynolds's  News- 
paper      ........     126 


xvii 


Contents 


15.  The  News  Agencies  :  Renter's,  Press  Association,  Cen- 

tral News,  Exchange  Telegraph  Co.,  London  News 
Agency,  the  Imperial  Press  Conference        .         .       157 

16.  The  Provincial  Press  :    Aberdeen  Free  Press,  Aber- 

deen Journal,  Belfast  Evening  Telegraph,  Birming- 
ham Daily  Post,  Birmingham  Daily  Mail,  Bir- 
mingham Dispatch,  Birmingham  Gazette,  Bolton 
Evening  News,  Bristol  Evening  Times  and  Echo, 
Bristol  Times  and  Mirror,  Cambria  Daily  Leader, 
Dundee  Advertiser,  Eastern  Daily  Press,  East 
Anglian  Daily  Times,  Edinburgh  Scotsman,  Edin- 
burgh Evening  Dispatch,  Glasgow  Evening  News, 
Glasgow  Herald,  Hull  Daily  Mail,  Irish  Indepen- 
dent, Irish  Times,  Leeds  Mercury,  Leicester  Daily 
Post,  Liverpool  Courier,  Liverpool  Post  and  Mer- 
cury, Manchester  Guardian,  Newcastle  Chronicle, 
North  Mail,  Northern  Echo,  Nottingham  Daily 
Express,  Nottingham  Guardian,  Sheffield  Daily 
Telegraph,  Sheffield  Independent,  South  Wales  Daily 
News,  South  Wales  Daily  Post,  Ulster  Echo,  Western 
Mail,  Western  Daily  Mercury,  Western  Morning 
News,  Wolverhampton  Express  and  Star,  Worcester- 
shire Echo,   Yorkshire  Post,  etc. 


17.  The   Illustrated   Papers  :    the  Illustrated  London 

Neivs,  the  Sketch,  the  Sphere,  the  Graphic,  the 
Daily  Graphic,  the  Bystander,  and  the  Taller 

18.  Some  Well-known   Journals    and   Journalists  : 

Punch,  Truth,  the  Field,  the  Athenceum,  the  Spec- 
tator, the  Nation,  Land  and  Water,  the  Exchange 
<ind  Mart,  London  Opinion,  John  Bull,  the  Passing 
Show,  etc.         ..... 

19.  The  House  of  Cassell. 

20.  George  Newnes,  Limited 

21.  The  Amalgamated  Press 

22.  C.  Arthur  Pearson,  Limited  . 


183 


238 


257 
276 

285 

291 

298 


Contents  xi 

CHAPTER  l-AGE 

23.  The  Religious  Press  :   the  British  Weekly,  the  Chris- 

tian, the  Christian  World,  the  Church  Family 
Newspaper,  the  Church  Times,  the  Friend,  the 
Guardian,  the  Methodist  Recorder,  the  Rehgions 
Tract  Society,  the  Sunday  School  Chronicle,  etc.     302 

24.  The  American  and  French  Press    .         .         .         -318 

25.  The  Paper  Everybody  Wants       ....     325 

26.  The  Trade  Press  and  Conclusion 


Index 


342 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PHOTOGRAVURE    PLATES 
The  Street  of  Ink  ......  Frontispiece 

PLATE  FACING   PAGE 

I. — Lord    Northcliffe,    Lord   Burnham,    Mr.    Frank 

Lloyd,  Professor  Stuart,  Lord  Glenesk         .       i6 

II. — ^Mr.  Ernest  Parke,  J. P.,  Mr.  J.  A.  Spender,  Mr. 
T.  P.  O'Connor,  M.P.,  Mr.  Robert  Donald,  Sir 
F.  C.  Gould       .......       32 

III. — Sir  Arthur  Pearson,  Bart.,  Mr.  H.  T.  Cadbury, 
Mr.  a.  G.  Gardiner,  Mr.  J.  Douglas,  Sir  E.  T. 
Cook  ........       48 

IV. — The  Late  Lord  Burnham,  Sir  George  Riddell, 
Lord  Rothermere,  Mr.  E.  Hulton,  Sir  Frank 
Newnes,  Bart.  ......       64 

v.— Mr.  J.  M.  Le  Sage,  Mr.  T.  Marlowe,  Mr.  R.  D. 
Blumenfeld,  Mr.  W.  T.  Madge,  Mr.  A.  S.  M. 
Hutchinson        .......       80 

VI. — Mr.  a.  H.  Mann,  Mr.  D.  M.   Sutherland,  Mr.  J. 

Heddle,  Mr.  W.  J.  Evans,  Mr.  Wilson  Pope      .       96 

VII.— Mr.  J.  L.  Garvin,  Mr.  W.  E.  Berry.  Mr.  R.  Butler, 

Mr.  Emsley  Carr,  Mr.  H.  Swaffer    .         .         .112 

VIII. — Mr.    Roderick    Jones,    Mr.    J.    Gennings,   Mr.   E. 

RoBBiNs,  Mr.  C.  Baker,  Mr.  Winton  Thorpe     .     128 

IX. — Sir  Edward  Russell,  Mr.   C.  P.  Scott,  Mr.  J.  P. 

Croal,  Mr.  J.  S.  R.  Phillips,  Mr.  A.  G.  Jeans     .     144 


xiv  List  of  Illustrations 

PLATE  FACING    PAGE 

X. — Mrs.   Broomfield,    Mr.   John   Oakley,    Mr.  A.  E. 

Spender.  Mr.  R.A.J.  Walling,  Mr.  David  Duncan     i6o 

XI.— Mr.  H.  a.  Gwynne,  Mr.  C.  W.  Starmer,  J. P.,  Mr. 
A.  Cozens-Hardy,  Mr.  R.  H.  H.  Baird,  J. P.,  Mr. 
G.  R.  Sims 176 

XII. — Mr.  Arthur  Spurgeon,  J. P.,  Mr.  Newman  Flower, 
Mr.  Carmichael  Thomas,  Mr.  G.  A.  Sutton, 
Mr.  Kennedy  Jones,  M.P.  ....      192 

XIII. — Mr.  C.  K.  Shorter,  Mr.  Bruce  Ingram,    Mr.  J.  M. 

Bulloch,  Mr.  E.  Huskinson,   Mr.  George  King     208 

XIV.— Sir  Gilbert  Parker,  Bart.,  P.C,  M.P.,  Mr.  J. 
St.  Loe  Strachey,  Mr.  H.  W.  Massingham,  Rt. 
Hon.  C.  F.  G.  Masterman,  Sir  W.  Robertson 
NicoLL        ........     224 

XV. — Dr.  E.  Hermitage  Day,  Mr.  J.  Penderel-Brodhurst, 
Mr.  Herbert  Clarke,  Mr.  G.  E.  Morgan,  Mr. 
H.  Upward         .......     240 

XVI. — Sir  Hedley  Le  Bas,  Mr.  H.  L.  Hendriks,  Mr.  F.  J. 
Hillier,  Sir  Theodore  Cook,  Mr.  Percival 
Marshall  ........     256 


List  of  Illustrations 


XV 


HALF-TONE  PLATES 

FACING    PAGE 

The   West   End   of   Fleet   Street,    with   a   Glimpse   of 

Temple  Bar,  1799      .......        14 


The  House  of  John  Walter  the  Second,  showing  the 
Elm  Tree  in  Printing  House  Square,  1794 ;  the 
Old   Printing  Office  of  The  Times 

The  Cambridge  Coach  leaving  the  Belle  Sauvage 
Inn  ;   Inner  Court  of  the  Belle  Sauvage  Inn  . 


H.    SiMONIS 


26 


276 


341 


CUTS    IN   THE    TEXT 

PAGE 

Original  Contents  Bill  of  the  Daily  Telegraph     .  .       40 

Charles  Dickens,  Founder  of  the  Daily  News        .  .       47 

Facsimile  of  Extract  from  Letter  written  by  Charles 

Dickens     .....••••       58 

Bright  Bill  of  the  Evening  News   .....       65 

One  of  Phil  May's  Illustrations  from  the  De  Rougemont 

Souvenir   ...••••••       72 

"  Damot  "—A  Typical  S/ay  Bill no 

Original  Contents  Bill  of  the  People     .         .         .         .150 


xvi  Acknowledgments 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The  Publishers  acknowledge,  with  many  thanks,  the  courtesy 
of  the  following  firms  for  kindly  granting  permission  to  use  the 
Photographs  specified  : — 

Messrs.  Russell  and  Sons,  for  Lord  Burnham,  Mr.  Car- 
MicHAEL  Thomas,  Sir  F.  C.  Gould,  Mr.  Thomas  Marlowe,  Mr. 
W.  J.  Evans,  Mr.  G.  E.  Morgan,  Mr.  R.  Butler,  Sir  Theodore 
Cook,  Sir  E.  Russell,  Mr.  J.  P.  Croal  ;  Messrs.  Elliott  and 
Fry,  for  Mr.  J.  A.  Spender,  Mr.  James  Douglas,  Sir  E.  T.  Cook, 
Mr.  R.  D.  Blumenfeld,  Mr.  Emsley  Carr,  Mr.  D.  M.  Suther- 
land, Mr.  J.  Penderel-Brodhurst,  Mr.  H.  Upward,  Mr.  T.  P. 
O'Connor,  M.P.  ;  Messrs.  Bassano,  Limited,  for  Mr.  Robert 
Donald,  Mr.  Bruce  Ingram,  Mr.  H.  A.  Gwynne  ;  The  Central 
News,  for  Mr.  A.  G.  Gardiner  ;  Mr.  Ernest  Brookes,  for  the 
late  Lord  Burnham  ;  Messrs.  Langfier,  Limited,  for  Mr. 
HuLTON  ;  Mr.  F.  A.  Swaine,  for  Mr.  J.  M.  Bulloch  ;  Mr.  E.  O. 
Hoppe,  for  Sir  Hedley  Le  Bas,  Mr.  C.  K.  Shorter,  Mr.  E. 
Huskinson,  Sir  W.  Robertson  Nicoll  ;  Mr.  Ernest  H.  Mills, 
for  Mr.  George  King  ;  The  Daily  Mirror  Studios,  for  Mr. 
J.  L.  Garvin  ;  Messrs.  Boughtons,  Ipswich,  for  the  Right 
Hon.  C.  F.  G.  Masterman  ;  Messrs.  Vandyk,  for  Mr.  H.  L. 
Hendriks,  Mr.  H.  W.  Massingham,  and  the  Author;  and  Mr. 
Frederick  Hollyer,  for  Mr.  C.  P.  Scott. 


INTRODUCTION 

Some  authors  have  said  that  when  they  write  their  books 
the  characters  take  the  narrative  into  their  own 
hands,  and  the  story  develops  into  something  quite 
different  from  the  original  conception.  That  has  been  my 
experience  with  this  contribution  to  the  history  of  the 
Press. 

I  had  been  playing  golf  one  day  at  Walton  Heath  with 
Sir  George  Riddell  and  my  colleague  James  Douglas, 
and  in  the  course  of  the  round  Sir  George  asked  me  how  I 
came  to  take  up  journalism  for  a  career.  When  I  told 
him  my  modest  story  he  asked  why  I  did  not  write  a  book 
about  my  experiences,  and  the  question  came  from  him 
with  added  force,  as  many  of  my  friends  had  often  told  me 
that  I  ought  to  do  so.  Hitherto  I  had  never  thought  that 
such  an  undertaking^  would  interest  anvone  outside  the 
circle  of  my  intimate  friends,  but  I  now  began  to  wonder 
if  in  the  course  of  my  experience  I  had  gathered  facts  and 
knowledge  which  would  be  appreciated  bv  a  wider  circle 
of  readers. 

When  I  reached  home  I  jotted  down  some  notes  about 
my  early  experiences  and  the  wav  in  which  Mr.  Ernest 
Parke  gave  me  my  first  real  start  in  life,  together  with 
a  few  other  recollections,  but  believing  that  a  writer  is  not 
the  best  judge  of  his  own  work,  I  determined  to  obtain 
the  opinion  of  someone  whose  judgment  I  could  rely 
upon.     It  seemed  to  me  that  my  friend.  Sir  Gilbert  Parker, 


xviii  Introduction 

was  probably  the  best  person  to  give  me  the  verdict  I 
wanted.  He  is  a  man  of  varied  gifts,  who  always  im- 
presses me  as  possessing  intellectual  powers  and  mental 
force  which  will  carry  him  to  any  heights  that  he  may 
aspire  to.  He  has  gathered  an  unrivalled  knowledge  of 
men  and  affairs  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  is  not  only 
a  great  writer,  but  has  an  intimate  knowledge  of  all  the 
best  authors.  Added  to  these  qualities  he  is  what  I  may 
best  describe  as  a  most  "understandable"  man,  who  can 
look  at  everything  with  appreciation  of  the  point  of  view 
of  the  average  individual.  I  asked  this  sympathetic  and 
delightful  friend  (to  whom  I  am  glad  to  pay  this  tribute 
of  regard)  if  he  would  kindly  look  through  my  preliminary 
manuscript,  and  made  up  my  mind  to  abide  by  what  he 
said. 

Sir  Gilbert  was  good  enough  to  say  that  he  was  con- 
vinced the  book  would  prove  a  real  and  valuable  addition 
to  knowledge  of  life  in  Fleet  Street  and  journalism,  and 
the  conception  of  it  then  became  a  definite  decision. 

Much  of  the  material  has  appeared  week  by  week  in 
the  Newspaper  World.  I  received  hundreds  of  letters 
from  journalists  all  over  the  country,  expressing  pleasure 
and  making  suggestions,  and  it  became  obvious  that  a 
book  which  would  bring  the  history  of  journalism  up  to 
date,  and  show  the  developments  and  enterprise  of  the 
Press  from  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  various  news- 
papers and  agencies,  would  be  welcome.  Along  these 
lines  the  articles  developed,  and  I  set  myself  to  obtain 
from  those  whom  I  met  the  additional  details  which 
would  amplify  my  own  experience.  In  this  book  portions  of 
the  Newspaper  World  articles  have  been  deleted,  others 
have  been  enlarged,  and  many  entirely  new  chapters  have 


Introduction  xix 

been  added.  No  history  of  journalism  could  be  given  in 
complete  detail  in  the  compass  of  one  volume  of  the  normal 
size,  as  this  book  shows.  If  one  were  to  take  the  weekly 
provincial  papers  alone,  there  are  hundreds  of  such  papers, 
any  of  which  would  afford  material  for  a  volume.  Each 
wields  considerable  influence,  and  each  is  the  product  of 
many  enterprising  and  capable  brains.  Their  work,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  dailies,  is  assisted  by  outside  contributors, 
and  the  literary  columns  are  therefore  produced  by  the 
combined  efforts  of  a  number  of  experienced  and  cultured 
experts. 

All  that  one  can  do,  short  of  producing  an  encyclo- 
pcedia,  is  to  indicate  the  influence  and  enterprise  of  the 
Press  as  a  whole  by  means  of  typical  examples  which  come 
within  one's  own  experience. 

Unfortunately,  also,  a  number  of  portraits  had  to  be 
omitted  because  they  reached  me  too  late  for  inclusion, 
owing  to  the  time  required  for  the  very  careful  printing 
of  the  photogravure  plates.  The  selection  given,  although 
incomplete,  will,  I  think,  be  found  to  be  representative  of 
the  various  branches  of  journalism. 

It  is  a  good  thing  that  journalists  should  be  able  to 
stand  aside  from  the  details  of  their  work  and  view  from  a 
detached  plane  the  romance  of  their  profession.  The 
history  of  the  Press  is  a  record  of  initiative  and  per- 
severance, and  the  triumph  of  pluck  in  face  of  stupendous 
difficulties.  It  contains  much  laughter  and  many  tears.  It 
disposes  very  effectually  of  the  general  belief  that  any 
fool  can  run  a  newspaper,  and  shows  on  the  contrary  that 
only  the  keenest  intellects  can  cope  with  the  problems  that 
confront  a  journalist  every  day  of  his  life.  The  tears,  I 
have   tried    to    leave   out   of    the   following    pages.     The 


XX  Introduction 

laughter,  I  hope,  is  there  side  by  side  with  many  stories 
which  will  prove  an  inspiration  and  encouragement,  both 
to  the  critical  readers  in  my  own  calling  and  to  the  general 
reader  who  cannot  fail  to  acquire  increased  admiration 
with  increased  knowledge  of  the  Fourth  Estate. 

Many  distinguished  journalists  have  taken  consider- 
able trouble  to  amplify  my  personal  recollections  and 
verify  my  facts,  so  that  the  record  which  I  have 
set  down  in  these  pages  may  be  accurate  as  well  as 
adequate.  Their  courtesy  in  this  respect,  the  interest 
which  they  have  been  good  enough  to  take,  and  the  en- 
couragement they  have  given  me  by  their  kind  references 
to  my  work  have  strengthened  my  opinion  of  the  comrade- 
ship which  is  bred  in  the  Street  of  Ink,  and  have  made  my 
labour  of  love  doubly  delightful. 

H.  S. 


THE    STREET    OF    INK 

CHAPTER  I 

EARLY    REMINISCENCES  :     MY    START    IN    THE    STREET    OF    INK 

Looking  back  over  the  happy  years  that  I  have  spent  in 
the  Street  of  Ink  I  realise  more  than  ever  what  a  fascinat- 
ing place  it  is,  and  how  it  offers  each  day  new  experiences 
and  new  prospects  that  can  hardly  be  paralleled  in  any 
other  calling.  It  will  be  my  endeavour  in  this  book  to 
record  from  my  own  experiences,  and  from  those  of  the 
leading  journalists  with  whom  it  has  been  my  privilege  to 
come  into  contact,  the  story  of  the  modern  Press  from  the 
intimate,  inside  point  of  view.  The  result  can  hardly  fail 
to  impress  more  strongly  upon  the  mind  of  its  reader,  as 
it  did  upon  my  own,  the  fact  that  no  career  offers  more 
variety,  more  interest,  and  more  reward  for  enterprise  and 
grit  than  the  profession  of  journalist.  The  history  of 
every  paper,  be  it  London  or  provincial,  daily  or  weekly, 
newspaper  or  periodical,  is  a  romance  of  enterprise,  the 
reading  of  which  could  not  fail  to  uplift  and  encourage  the 
ambitious  young  man,  for  whose  benefit,  as  well  as  for 
that  of  every  journalist  who  is  proud  of  his  work,  this 
book  is  written.  If  I  begin  with  my  personal  experiences, 
it  is  not  from  egotism  but  from  a  desire  to  illustrate  the 
truth  of  this  statement  as  I  have  proved  it  for  myself. 

One  of  my  friends  asked  me  once  whether  I  remem- 
bered my  first  business  transaction.  It  took  my  mind  back 
to  my  childhood's  days — I  was  actually  nine  years  of  age— » 

B 


2  The  Street  of  Ink 

when  I  disposed  of  a  stamp  album  which  must  have  been 
worth  at  least  ^'8o,  for  2d.,  a  piece  of  chocolate  cream, 
and  a  penknife.  From  that  unpromising  beginning  until 
to-day,  my  memories  range  over  such  experiences  of 
change  and  progress  that  I  think  they  will  be  found  in- 
teresting to  most  readers  who  themselves  have  witnessed 
many  of  the  developments  that  have  taken  place,  although 
in  many  cases  from  different  standpoints. 

Whereas  (notice  the  legal  beginning)  my  personal 
leanings  were  towards  the  Law,  family  responsibilities 
compelled  me  to  change  my  plans.  Being  always  fond  of 
stringing  words  together  and  trying  to  make  sense  of 
them,  journalism  naturally  attracted  me.  I  taught  myself 
shorthand,  and  practised  it  at  night  time  until  I  was  able 
to  report.  I  then  obtained  a  small  position  with  a  publica- 
tion called  Latest  Bits,  where  I  graduated  in  the  approved 
style  by  combining  all  sorts  of  functions,  and  gained 
my  first  experience  in  journalistic  methods.  The  first 
number  was  cleverly  advertised  by  means  of  a  contents  bill 
containing  a  picture  by  Dudley  Hardy,  showing  a  beauti- 
ful nurse  carrying  a  baby  which  she  was  showing  to  the 
delighted  father.  Underneath  appeared  the  words,  "The 
Latest  Arrival."  I  also  recall  a  bright  scheme  by  which 
readers  of  that  paper  were  invited  to  send  in  their  photo- 
graphs, which  were  used  as  illustrations  by  altering  the 
faces.  For  instances,  a  clean-shaven  man  would  be  given 
a  moustache,  a  bald  man  a  fine  head  of  hair,  and  so  on. 
In  this  way  I  had  the  gratification  of  discovering  myself, 
with  certain  improvements,  figuring  in  an  illustration  as 
the  hero  of  a  great  naval  story. 

Changes  in  Newspapers. — Life  in  Fleet  Street  was  as 
exacting  in  most  newspaper  departments  then  as  it  is  to- 
day, though  it  was  very  different.  We  had  our  }4d.  daily 
papers  in  the  Morning  Leader,  the  Morning,  and,  a  little 
later,  the  Morning  Herald.  The  latter  two  did  not 
long  survive,  but  the  Morning  Leader  always  prospered. 


Early  Reminiscences  3 

and  the  coming  of  the  Daily  Mail  four  years  later  proved 
that  the  era  of  the  popular  Press  had  arrived.     Fourteen 
years  ago,   in  some  monthly  notes,  which  I  v^-rote  for  a 
great  many  years  under  the  heading  of  "In  and  Around 
Fleet  Street,"  I  prophesied  that  The  Times  would  be  re- 
duced in  price,  and  that  the  Daily  News  and  the  Daily 
Chronicle  would  be  sold  at  5^d.     The  launching  of  the 
Tribune,  Sir  George  Newnes's  Daily  Courier  venture,  and 
W.   T.    Stead's   Daily   Paper — all    three   penny   papers — ■ 
showed  in  their  brief  careers  the  difficulty  of  establishing 
a  newspaper  and  the  fact  that  the  days  of  the  new  penny 
London  dailies  were  numbered.     We  little  thought,  how- 
ever, that  we  should  see  the  death  of  the  Standard  (which, 
like  the  Daily   Telegraph,   showed  evidence  of  progress, 
and  had  handsome  offices  erected  for  it  in  Fleet  Street) ; 
nor  did  w'e  anticipate  the  remarkable  progress  which  would 
be  made  by  papers  like  the  Daily  News  and  the  Daily 
Chronicle,    when   they   reduced  their   price   to    >2d.,   and, 
while    retaining    their    old    readers,    added    hundreds    of 
thousands  of  new  ones  to  their  circulations.     It  is  some- 
times suggested  that  a  couple  of  decades  ago  conditions 
were  far  more  lax  than  they  are  to-day.     If  anything,  the 
times    were   more    strenuous,    and   the   fact   w^as    just    as 
evident  then  that  a  man  will  make  or  break  his  reputation 
in  Fleet  Street  within  two  years. 

As  an  example  of  the  "stick-to-it-ness  "  of  the  leading 
newspaper  magnates,  I  well  remember  that  Mr.  Ernest 
Parke,  the  editor  of  the  Star  and  Morning  Leader, 
with  whom,  I  am  happy  to  say,  I  am  still  closely 
associated,  used  to  be  at  the  office  at  7  a.m.  to 
see  the  Star  leaders  before  going  to  press,  and  he 
was  also  to  be  found  in  the  same  place  at  10  o'clock  in 
the  evening  to  put  the  Morning  Leader  to  bed.  He  never 
took  a  whole  week's  holiday,  and  as  a  result  most  of  us  did 
not  care  to  go  away  either.  Both  by  his  example  and 
kindly  encouragement  he  got  the  best  possible  work  out 


4  The  Street  of  Ink 

of  all  his  men,  and  there  is  not  one  member  of  his  old 
staff  who  would  not  lose  his  right  hand  to  render  him 
a  service. 

Saturday  morning  holidays  and  an  occasional  afternoon 
for  golf  were  quite  unknown.  Indeed,  I  frequently  worked 
until  quite  as  late  on  Saturdays  as  on  any  other  day  in  the 
week.  While,  however,  this  shows  how  busy  we  had  to 
be,  I  am  not  at  all  sure  that  we  are  not  wiser  to-day. 

Clothes  and  the  Man. — I  also  remember  that  twenty 
years  ago  no  man  on  the  commercial  side  of  a  newspaper 
would  have  ventured  into  Fleet  Street  unless  dressed  in  a 
frock  coat  and  silk  hat.  Even  in  the  hottest  July  or 
August  days,  a  straw  hat  was  very  rarely  seen,  and  when 
a  man  did  appear  in  one  he  was  immediately  singled  out 
as  a  holiday-maker,  and  certainly  was  not  treated  as  a 
serious  business  man.  As  an  example  of  this,  I  recall  an 
occasion  when  I  was  with  a  big  company  promoter  and  a 
card  was  brought  in. 

"What  sort  of  a  man  is  he?  "  the  clerk  was  asked. 

"Not  important,  sir,  he's  wearing  a  lounge  suit  and 
straw  hat,"  was  the  reply. 

"Well,  then,  tell  him  I'm  engaged." 

That  man,  who  represented  a  really  important  paper, 
and  was  one  of  the  best  fellows  I  ever  knew,  was  refused 
an  interview  because  of  his  clothes.  I  ventured  to  say  that 
I  couldn't  help  catching  sight  of  the  name  on  the  card, 
and  as  the  man  was  "Somebody,"  thought  that  he  ought  to 
have  been  seen.  The  boy  was  sent  after  him,  but  he  had 
disappeared.  I  know  that  this  hasty  decision  on  the  part 
of  my  promoter  friend  in  not  seeing  this  very  able  young 
newspaper  man  resulted  in  heavy  loss  to  them  both. 

A  Pleasing  Camaraderie. — It  is  pleasing  to  note  the 
camaraderie  that  exists  to-day  in  all  departments  of  a  news- 
paper oflfice  as  compared  with  twenty  years  ago.  Mr. 
Moberly  Bell,  then  manager  of  The  Times,  told  me 
that    a    score    of    years    ago    it    was    an     unheard    of 


Early  Reminiscences  5 

thing  for  a  member  of  the  editorial  staff  of  The  Times 
to  be  seen  talking  to  any  member  of  the  commercial 
department.  Indeed,  there  was  a  long  period  when  it  was 
not  only  a  rule  that  no  word  of  The  Times  should  appear 
in  the  advertisement  columns,  and  no  word  of  advertise- 
ment in  the  news  columns,  but  men  working  on  the  paper 
were  actually  forbidden  to  know  each  other.  Mr.  Moberly 
Bell  also  told  a  story  of  a  man,  formerly  the  head 
messenger  of  The  Times,  who  died  some  time  in  1892.  He 
is  reported  to  have  gone  to  Delane  with  bated  breath  and 
said  that  Mr.  Ross  was  seen  speaking  to  Mr.  Wilson  in 
the  passage ;  and  those  two  men  had  been  working  for 
twenty  years  together  in  the  same  building  and  had  never 
known  each  other. 

A  Start  in  Fleet  Street. — The  generally  accepted 
recipe  for  acquiring  a  fortune  is  either  to  begin  with 
an  empty  pocket  or  else,  like  the  late  Mr.  Pierpont 
Morgan,  to  start  with  a  comfortable  fortune  and 
multiply  it.  I  had  neither  of  these  advantages,  but 
struck  a  happy  medium,  which  I  hope  may  lead  to  a  pro- 
portionate result.  To  be  exact,  my  personal  capital  when 
I  entered  Fleet  Street  one  Saturday  morning  amounted  to 
95^d.,  plus  a  good  general  education — which,  with  other 
advantages,  I  owe  almost  entirely  to  my  mother  and  her 
patience  and  kindness — a  rough  knowledge  of  journalism, 
and  the  ability  to  take  a  report  in  shorthand  as  a  result 
of  laborious  self-tuition. 

Fleet  Street  asks  nothing  from  a  man  except  ability  to 
meet  its  requirements  and  industry  to  carry  them  out.  I 
had,  however,  a  valuable  introduction  to  Mr.  Ernest  Parke, 
of  the  Morning  Leader  and  Star.  Replying  to  my  appli- 
cation for  an  editorial  appointment,  he  merely  said  that  he 
had  no  vacancy,  but  if,  in  spite  of  that  fact,  I  still  wished 
to  see  him,  I  could  call.  So  I  duly  called  at  Stonecutter 
Street,  and  was  very  charmingly  treated.  He  listened 
patiently  to  my  story,  questioned  me  as  to  my  education 


6  The  Street  of  Ink 

and  experience,  and  finally  suggested  that  they  might  find 
a  niche  for  me  on  the  commercial  side. 

As  a  result  I  interviewed  Mr.  W.  Homeyard,  who 
said  that  Mr.  Parke  had  spoken  to  him  kindly  about 
me  while  I  was  on  my  way  to  see  him,  and  to  cut  a 
long  story  short,  I  was  engaged  at  the  princely  salary 
of  30s.  per  week.  A  sixpenny  telegram  to  my  mother 
reduced  my  capital  to  3^2d.,  part  of  which  I  ex- 
pended on  refreshment,  the  remainder  serving  to  take  me 
part  way  home  on  a  tram.  Thus,  I  can  claim  actually 
to  have  started  in  Fleet  Street  with  no  capital  of  my  own, 
although  that  was  remedied  by  an  advance  of  los.  on 
account  of  my  salary.  This,  I  may  say,  was  the  only 
money  I  ever  borrowed,  and  it  was  promptly  returned  at 
the  end  of  the  same  w^eek.  That  was  more  than  twenty- 
one  years  ago. 

There  is  a  story  of  the  late  Lord  Rothschild  which  is  so 
good  that  it  ought  to  be  true,  particularly  as  it  embodies  a 
business  principle  of  which  I  proved  the  truth  from  the 
outset  of  my  career.  The  story  runs  that  Lord  Rothschild, 
wishing  to  help  a  young  man  in  business,  took  his  arm  and 
walked  him  through  some  of  the  principal  thoroughfares 
of  the  City.  That  association  was  the  best  capital  that  his 
young  friend  had.  I  was  similarly  fortunate,  because  I 
found  myself  associated  with  one  of  the  best  firms  possible, 
and  from  the  beginning  was  not  only  well  grounded  in  the 
principles  of  success  by  IMr.  Homeyard,  but  was  also  im- 
pressed with  the  necessity  of  thinking  for  myself. 

Mr.  Homeyard — from  whom  I  learnt  a  great  deal  which 
I  am  always  glad  to  acknowledge — gave  me  one  piece 
of  counsel  which  may  well  be  added  to  my  implied  in- 
junction given  above  to  serve  the  best  firm  you  can. 
"No  man,"  he  said,  "can  teach  you  how  to  deal  with  other 
men.  You  must  find  out  what  methods  suit  your  own 
personality,  because  those  which  lead  to  success  in  one 
case  may  be  totally   unsuited  to  a   different   individual." 


Early  Reminiscences  7 

As  the  ability  to  deal  with  men  is  the  keynote  to  success 
in  business,  the  advice  is  worth  taking  to  heart.  Whether 
one  is  selling  anything  or  controlling  a  staff,  it  is  essential 
that  sound  methods  should  be  employed,  and  volumes 
could  be  written  on  the  subject,  although  experience  is  the 
only  safe  guide. 

The  Old-Time  Journalist  in  the  then  "Street  of 
Drink." — The  study  of  mankind  always  attracted  me,  and 
there  was  plenty  to  maintain  interest  in  those  days  as  at 
the  present  time.  Life,  I  found,  was  a  curious  mixture  of 
strenuousness  and  Bohemianism.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
journalism  was  just  entering  upon  a  new  and  better  phase, 
when  the  worst  conditions  would  disappear.  There  was, 
for  instance,  the  custom  of  attending  dinners  of  all  sorts, 
which  the  reporters  would  regard  as  a  kind  of  carousal. 
They  were  accustomed  to  leave,  many  of  them,  with 
souvenirs  in  the  shape  of  cigars,  and  some  of  them  rather 
the  worse  for  drink.  The  first  Press  luncheon  I  ever 
attended  impressed  this  aspect  of  journalism  very  strongly 
on  my  mind.  I  accompanied  a  well-known  journalist  who 
specialised  in  such  functions  and  was  typical  of  the  class  to 
which  I  am  referring.  In  those  days  there  were,  of  course, 
no  "taxis,"  and  the  height  of  luxury  in  transit  was  the 
hansom.  Mv  "friend  "  was  very  particular  in  the  choice  of 
a  vehicle,  and  would  think  nothing  of  w^aiting  from  a 
quarter  to  half  an  hour  until  he  saw  a  "turn-out"  which 
took  his  fancy.  Then  he  would  heave  his  vast  bulk  of 
twenty  stone  into  the  cab  behind  a  smart  horse  and  beneath 
a  driver  arrayed  in  a  fawn-coloured  coat,  top  hat,  and 
adorned  with  a  carnation,  and  settle  himself  comfortably 
with  the  remark  that  for  a  few  minutes  w^e  could  live  like 
millionaires  (at  a  cost  of  a  shilling  or  eighteenpence  !)  On 
this  particular  occasion  I  was  astonished  to  discover  his 
method  of  arranging  things  with  a  view  to  his  enjoyment. 
Arrived  at  the  luncheon  room  he  singled  out  the  head 
waiter  and  called  him  up  to  his  seat.     He  then  produced 


8  The  Street  of  Ink 

from  his  pocket  half  a  crown  which  he  handed  to  the  man 
with  the  remarlv,  "That's  for  you,"  cutting  short  his  thanks 
by  saying,  "Wait  a  minute.  You  see  that  glass,  well,  it 
must  never  be  empty."  And  it  never  was  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  luncheon  till  the  end,  although  it  was 
drained  a  good  many  times. 

A  Hardened  Case. — I  also  remember  an  occasion 
when  I  accompanied  the  editor  of  a  weekly  newspaper  to 
another  function  of  the  same  kind.  On  the  way  I  told 
him  my  views  of  the  habits  indulged  in  by  journalists  in 
over-drinking  and  in  helping  themselves  liberally  to  cigars 
for  future  enjoyment.  He  also  expressed  disgust,  and 
after  hearing  his  view-s  I  was  more  astonished  when  the 
cigars  came  round  and  he  turned  to  me  with  the  remark  : 
"Notwithstanding  our  conversation  I  really  must  take 
several  of  these,  as  I  may  not  get  another  opportunity  !  " 
As  I  have  already  pointed  out,  the  same  conditions  existed 
on  the  commercial  side,  and  it  is  surprising  that  journal- 
ism was  so  efficient  as  it  was.  We  have  the  men  who  were 
at  the  head  of  affairs  to  thank  for  that.  With  regard  to 
the  rank  and  file,  many  a  promising  young  man  was  ruined 
mentally  and  morally  by  his  associates.  I  recall  one 
brilliant  young  man,  at  one  time  editor  of  one  of  our 
'Varsity  papers,  who  succumbed  to  his  temptations  and 
was  finished  in  a  few  months,  who  afterwards  sent  a  note 
to  me  at  my  office  begging  for  sixpence  "to  buy  bread." 
Such  cases  w^ere  unfortunately  only  too  common. 
Happily,  those  conditions  have  almost  entirely  passed 
away,  and  you  will  find  no  more  sober  class  to-day  than 
newspaper  men. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  POPULAR  PRESS  :    OLD  AND  NEW 

JOURNALISM 

Birth  of  the  Popular  Press. — It  was  my  privilege  to 
be  linked  up  with  the  growth  of  the  popular  Press  at  its 
source,  for  the  powerful  ^2'd.  dailies  of  the  present  time 
grew  out  of  the  ^^d.  evening  newspapers,  and  particu- 
larly out  of  the  Star,  because  it  was  the  distribution 
system  of  this  paper  which  made  the  Morning  Leader 
possible  by  overcoming  the  opposition  of  the  trade  to  a 
halfpenny  morning  paper.  Previous  attempts  to  estab- 
lish halfpenny  morning  newspapers  in  London  had  failed 
because  of  the  attitude  of  the  wholesale  distributors,  who 
anticipated  a  loss  of  profit  from  the  reduced  price.  The 
Morning  Leader,  however,  was  able  to  fall  back  upon  the 
highly  organised  system  of  direct  distribution  to  the  retail 
newsagents  which  had  been  established  for  the  Star. 
Thus,  by  using  the  carts  employed  for  the  Star,  the 
management  of  the  Morning  Leader  was  enabled  to  de- 
liver copies  direct  to  the  retailers  of  the  metropolis  with- 
out the  intervention  of  the  wholesaler,  and  although  the 
method  was  a  very  costly  one,  it  successfully  combated 
the  opposition  which  had  proved  too  strong  in  previous 
ventures.  Incidentally,  the  episode  emphasises  the  para- 
mount importance  of  the  part  played  by  the  business  side 
of  newspapers  in  making  the  halfpenny  paper  a  practical 
possibility. 

I  shall  deal  with  the  Star  in  detail  later,  and  will 
content  myself  with  showing  why  I  describe  the  office  as 
the  original  home  from  which  sprang  the  modern  powerful 
daily  Press.      When  "T.  P."  retired,  Mr.  J.  J.  Colman, 

9 


10  The  Street  of  Ink 

M.P.  for  Norwich,  who  was  one  of  the  principal  pro- 
prietors, asked  Mr.  Frederick  Wilson  (now  Sir  Frederick 
Wilson),  who  was  his  partner  in  the  East  Anglian  Daily 
Times,  to  come  and  help  in  the  reconstruction,  and  Sir 
Frederick  himself  is  my  authority  for  saying  that,  as 
managing  director  of  the  re-formed  company,  he  made  it 
a  distinct  point  of  policy  that  if  anyone  else  threatened  to 
start  a  halfpenny  morning  paper  the  Star  Company  would 
start  one  also.  When  the  appearance  of  the  Morning  was 
announced  the  Star  directors  met  at  Corton,  on  the  East 
Coast,  where  Mr.  Gladstone  was  staying,  and  plans  for  a 
halfpenny  morning  paper  w^ere  considered  and  approved. 
The  Morning  Leader  was  brought  out  in  little  more  than 
a  fortnight.  It  was  an  excellent  first  number,  comparing 
well  with  the  Morning. 

The  Morning  collapsed,  but  the  sound  position  of  the 
Morning  Leader  was  unaffected  by  the  appearance  of  the 
Daily  Mail  in  1896. 

I  have  further  justification  for  describing  the  offices  of 
the  Morning  Leader  and  the  Star  as  the  original  home 
from  which  sprang  the  modern  powerful  halfpenny  Press. 
Mr.  Thomas  Marlow^e,  who  became  editor  of  the  Daily 
Mail  (a  distinction  which  he  still  holds,  by  the  way),  was 
an  old  Star  man,  and  I  may  add  that  Mr.  Robert  Donald, 
the  enterprising  and  able  managing  director  of  the  Daily 
Chronicle,  graduated  in  the  same  good  school.  The  Daily 
Mirror,  which  was  the  pioneer  of  the  halfpenny  London 
picture  papers,  of  course  had  its  origin  in  the  Daily  Mail 
ofiice,  and  although  the  Daily  Express  and  Daily  Sketch, 
which  complete  the  list,  are  not  controlled  by  men  who 
were  trained  in  the  Star  office,  their  origin  was  undoubtedly 
due  to  the  demand  for  halfpenny  daily  papers  which  w-as 
created  by  them. 

A  Star  Caste. — I  am  reminded  by  this  of  a  saying 
I  read  recently  that  "the  man  who  has  testimonials  is  the 
man  who  needs  them."     No  man  in  journalism  could  have 


The  Popular  Press  n 

a  better  recommendation  than  the  fact  that  he  had  a  good 
record  in  the  office  of  the  Morning  Leader  or  the  Star. 
To-day  many  of  the  highest  places  in  journalism  and  other 
fields  of  activity  are  occupied  by  men  \vho  were  on  these 
papers.  Among  the  names  which  may  be  mentioned  are 
Clement  Shorter,  the  editor  of  the  Sphere ;  A.  B.  Walkley, 
the  dramatic  critic  of  The  Times;  Bernard  Shaw; 
Richard  le  Gallienne,  once  the  literary  editor  of 
the  Star,  in  which  his  successor  was  the  brilliant 
James  Douglas,  still  a  valued  colleague  of  mine; 
Spencer  Leigh  Hughes,  M.P.,  famous  as  "Sub  Rosa"; 
Lincoln  Springfield,  the  prince  of  Press  agents  in 
this  country,  now  part  proprietor  and  editor  of  London 
Opinio7i;  Sir  Gordon  Hewart,  the  famous  M.P.  and  now 
Solicitor-General;  and  Bertram  Christian,  a  leading  pub- 
lisher. Joseph  Pennell,  a  great  artist  who  used  the  Press 
as  a  medium  to  fame,  was  also  a  Star  discovery. 
"Charlie  "  Hands,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  writers  on  the 
Daily  Mail,  was  the  original  "Star  Man."  A.  B.  Walkley, 
who  made  his  reputation  in  the  first  instance  as  "Specta- 
tor "  of  the  Star,  created  a  record  by  writing  what  must 
surely  be  the  shortest  dramatic  criticism,  and  one  w^hich 
would  certainly  tax  the  ingenuity  of  the  most  enterprising 
sub-editor  to  cut  down.  The  play  was  slaughtered 
at  length  by  other  critics,  but  Walkley  simply  gave 
the  name  of  the  theatre,  the  title,  which  I  be- 
lieve was  "A  Terrible  Night,"  and  added  the  words, 
"Quite  so." 

Some  of  us  who  still  remain  might  Tiave  been  added  to 
the  list  had  we  accepted  offers  which  were  made  to  us. 
Perhaps  the  most  flattering  testimonial  paid  to  my  own 
association  with  the  Star  Newspaper  Company  was  the 
offer  I  received  a  few  years  back  to  become  general 
manager  of  one  of  the  great  penny  dailies  which  still 
survives  all  competition  with  undiminished  prosperity. 
Dazzling  as  the  prospect  was  at  the  time,  I  was  so  happy 


12  The  Street  of  Ink 

in  my  old  "home"  that  I  could  not  face  a  parting  of  the 
ways. 

Offered  a  Fortune. — In  contradistinction  to  this,  I 
am  often  amused  at  the  recollection  of  another  offer  which 
was  made  to  me  at  a  very  early  stage  in  my  career.  It  was 
no  less  than  a  prospect  of  eventually  becoming  a  million- 
aire !  My  benefactor-to-be  was  a  gentleman  who  had  an 
office  in  Fleet  Street,  and  the  great  scheme  he  unfolded  to 
me  was  to  associate  myself  with  him  in  a  venture  which, 
according  to  him,  would  obviate  the  necessity  of  all  news- 
papers except  two,  which  we  were  to  publish.  My  part 
was  to  organise  and  control  the  business  departments, 
while  he  would  supervise  the  editorial  side.  Like  all  other 
great  undertakings  it  had  the  supreme  advantage  of 
simplicity.  The  revolution  was  to  be  accomplished  by  the 
simple  process  of  publishing  a  morning  paper  called 
Sunrise  and  a  companion  evening  paper  called  Sunset, 
these  titles  being  sufficient,  apparently,  to  wipe  out  all 
competition  automatically. 

Although  he  anticipated  that  our  efforts  would  realise  a 
modest  profit  of  ^200,000  for  us  to  divide,  natural  caution 
rather  than  reluctance  to  show  enterprise  prompted  me  to 
decline  the  offer.  The  two  papers  never  saw  the  light  of 
day,  but  whether  that  was  because  of  my  declining  to  take 
part  in  the  venture  or  because  no  one  else  would  do  so,  I 
am  unable  to  say.  These  offers  were,  of  course,  most 
gratifying,  but  were  less  alluring  than  they  might  have 
been  because  of  the  steady  progress  which  I  was  already 
making. 

Professor  James  Stuart  was  chairman  of  the  directors 
of  the  Star  Newspaper  Company  when  I  joined  the 
Morning  Leader.  He  was  one  of  those  men  who  at  all 
times  are  greater  than  their  work,  and  thus  make  their 
work  great.  He  had  long  resigned  his  Professorship  of 
Mechanism  and  Applied  Mechanics  at  Cambridge  in  order 
to  devote  himself  to  political  work.     In  1898  he  became  a 


The  Popular  Press  13 

director  of  Messrs.  J.  and  J.  Colman,  Limited,  and  lived 
most  of  his  time  in  Norwich,  but  he  maintained  his  close 
connection  with  the  papers  right  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death,  I  well  remember  meeting  him  on  one  occasion 
outside  the  office  in  the  pouring  rain,  and  telling  him  that 
it  was  most  uncomfortable  weather,  and  I  was  about  soaked 
through.  With  a  whimsical  smile  he  said,  "Ah,  but  it  is 
so  good  for  mustard  seeds." 

Generous  Appreciation. — On  the  other  hand,  as  an 
example  of  his  thoughtfulness,  I  recollect  that  after  four- 
teen years'  work  with  the  Morning  Leader,  during  which  I 
had  never  stayed  away  from  the  office  on  account  of  illness 
(although  on  some  occasions  I  might  reasonably  have  done 
so),  I  was  forced  to  absent  myself  for  a  week.  When  I 
returned  to  my  duties  he  inquired  kindly  after  my  health, 
and  said  that  it  would  be  a  matter  of  personal  gratification 
to  him  if  I  would  consult  his  own  doctor,  an  old  colleague 
at  Cambridge.  I  promised  to  do  so,  and  it  transpired 
that  he  made  special  inquiries  about  me,  and  was  told  that 
I  needed  a  long  rest  combined  with  a  course  of  vSpa  treat- 
ment. Thereupon  he  begged  me  to  follow  that  advice, 
adding  that  he  himself  had  recently  been  obliged  to  do  the 
same,  and  as  he  found  it  a  most  expensive  proceeding, 
asked  if  I  would  "Just  put  the  cost  down  tea  friend  named 
Stuart."  My  reply  was  that  I  would  gladly  do  anything 
to  please  him  in  the  shape  of  work,  but  I  certainly  could 
not  go  away  for  a  long  holiday,  or  accept  his  kind  offer. 
Nor  did  I  do  so,  but  soon  managed  to  recover  my  health 
in  "The  Street  of  Inl<." 

Such  thoughtfulness  was  typical  of  him,  and  indeed  he 
and  Mr.  Parke,  who  was  then  managing  editor,  seemed  to 
act  in  combination  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  me.  I 
treasure  many  charming  letters  from  both  of  them.  The 
following  quotation  from  one  letter  which  Professor  Stuart 
wrote  to  me  is  given  not  because  of  its  personal  reference, 
but  to  show  the  generous  spirit  in  which  he  treated  his 


14  The  Street  of  Ink 

staff:  "It  delights  me  to  have  the  opportunity  of  saying 
how  much  I  admire  and  esteem  your  work,  and  still  more 
important,  how  much  I  admire  and  esteem  the  spirit  in 
which  you  carry  it  on,  and  the  reports  I  hear  on  all  sides, 
from  often  unexpected  quarters,  of  your  high  and  honour- 
able character  and  reputation,"  etc.,  etc.  It  was  pleasant 
indeed  to  work  under  such  men,  and  I  owe  more  than  I  can 
say  to  their  friendship  and  help. 

Evening  Paper  "Leaders." — Professor  Stuart  occa- 
sionally wrote  the  leading  articles  for  the  Morning  Leader, 
and  for  a  period  regularly  wrote  the  "leader  "  for  the  Star. 
The  latter  work  involved  getting  to  the  office  at  seven 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  reading  the  morning  papers,  and 
then  writing  the  leader  at  the  last  moment.  He  told  me 
the  prospect  of  writing  an  article  against  time  terrified  him, 
but  that  his  subsequent  experience  was  that  it  was  easier 
on  the  whole  to  write  at  high  pressure.  He  added  that 
as  he  generally  went  to  the  House  of  Commons  in  the 
afternoon  until  midnight,  the  time  at  his  disposal  for 
sleep  was  very  limited. 

It  seems  to  me  now  that  one  of  the  most  striking  differ- 
ences between  what  I  may  call  the  "old"  journalism  and 
the  new,  is  the  restlessness  which  characterises  the 
journalist  of  to-day.  The  giants  of  the  'nineties,  and 
earlier,  and  even  the  smaller  men,  worked  for  the 
same  paper  much  as  a  man  goes  into  the  Bank  of 
England  with  never  a  thought  of  changing  into,  let  us  say, 
Lloyds.  Even  to-day  the  world  at  large  associates  the 
names  of  Sala  with  the  Telegraph,  Russell  with  The 
Times,  and  Archibald  Forbes  with  the  Daily  News. 

Qualifications  for  Journalism. — Another  difference, 
which  the  War  to  some  extent  has  modified,  was  that  the 
"fine  writing"  of  the  old  high-priced  dailies  gave  way  to 
plainer  English  more  suited  to  the  masses,  to  whom  the 
newspapers  with  great  circulations  appealed.  As  an 
illustration  of  what  I  mean,  it  was  said  years  ago  that  no 


The  Popular  Press  i5 

writer  on  the  Daily  Telegraph  would  mention  a  "fish." 
He  would  refer  to  it  as  "a  finny  denizen  of  the  deep." 
Perhaps  the  alternative  of  calling  a  spade  a  spade  was 
responsible  for  the  libel  actions  which  most  big  papers 
found  to  be  the  bane  of  their  existence. 

In  the  past  the  great  journalists  were  regarded  as  of 
almost  equal  importance  as  their  papers.  They  were  like 
the  actors  and  actresses  of  our  time  who  draw  full  houses. 
Even  our  greatest  editors  and  journalists,  although  they 
may  have  a  following  of  many  thousands  of  readers,  would 
be  the  last  to  claim  that  one  man  alone  could  satisfy  the 
entire  demands  of  a  newspaper  clientele  to-day.  Under 
modern  conditions  the  newspaper  caters  for  such  diverse 
interests  that  general  all-round  excellence  is  the  paramount 
requirement,  and  one  or  two  names  alone  are  not  sufficient. 
Further,  when  the  literary  fare  has  been  provided,  the 
paper  must  be  printed  and  distributed  efficiently,  the 
advertisements  must  be  carefully  cultivated,  and  the  whole 
great  organisation,  made  up  of  the  four  chief  departments 
— editorial,  printing,  publishing,  and  advertising — must 
work  smoothly  and  in  harmony.  Each  of  these  is  a  huge 
business  in  itself,  the  first  two  entailing  enormous  outlay, 
and  the  latter  two  gathering  in  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
pounds  annually  in  revenue.  One  might  compare  the 
newspaper  of  twenty  years  ago  and  the  production  of  to- 
day with  a  sailing  ship  and  a  steamer.  The  modern 
machine  in  either  case  calls  for  a  combined  degree  of 
technical  ability  and  skill  not  required  before,  and  the 
man  occupying  a  responsible  position  in  each  instance  must 
be  equipped  mentally  to  a  corresponding  degree. 

The  Foe  of  the  Free-Lance. — To  return,  however, 
to  my  own  experience  as  a  junior  regarding  the  great  ones 
of  Fleet  Street  with  awe  from  afar.  I  did  not  lose  my 
interest  in  editorial  matters,  and  I  am  very  glad  of  it, 
because  it  proved  a  real  help  to  me.  To  most  writers 
the  sub-editor  is  anathema.     I  have  known  many  of  them, 


i6  The  Street  of  Ink 

charming  fellows  in  private  life,  and  good  sons,  husbands, 
and  fathers,  but  men  who  became  transformed  into 
Vandals  as  soon  as  they  took  the  blue  office  pencil  into 
their  hands.  Many  a  literary  gem  of  mine  did  they  lay 
violent  hands  upon  and  ruin,  one  of  them  being  an  effort 
for  which  I  have  never  forgiven  the  perpetrator. 

I  had  attended  the  closing  performance  at  the  old 
Gaiety  Theatre,  and  considered  my  report  worthy  of  the 
occasion.  There  was  a  reference  to  the  decorations,  and 
allusions  to  the  departing  glories  couched  in  phrases  of 
such  tender  sentiment  as  would  bring  the  necessary  lump 
into  the  throats  of  the  readers. 

Much  of  it  was  left  as  I  wrote  it,  but  the  sub-editor  was 
singularly  "gifted,"  and  while  retaining  a  substantial  part 
of  my  phraseology,  contrived  in  the  most  subtle  way  to 
"improve"  my  writing.  Thus,  when  I  read  the  report  in 
print,  the  white  roses  in  my  description  of  the  decora- 
tions had  been  transformed  into  carnations,  and  the  ferns 
out  of  sheer  devilry  had  been  turned  into  spiraeas.  The 
pathos  of  seeing  Irving,  Toole,  Nellie  Farren,  and  Edward 
Terry  bidding  farewell  to  a  scene  of  old  triumphs  and 
closing  a  chapter  in  their  own  lives  was  entirely  removed; 
in  fact,  the  sub-editor  seemed  to  think  that  it  was  far  better 
to  treat  the  occasion  as  a  joyous  evening  on  which  the 
curtain  was  rung  down  uproariously  by  way  of  prelude  to 
more  merriment  to  come.  In  short,  he  treated  an  occasion 
which  was  somewhat  melancholy  as  if  it  had  been  a  panto- 
mime, and  I  was  powerless  to  prevent  him.  If  he  still 
lives,  and  reads  these  notes,  he  may  be  moved  to  repent- 
ance or  inspired  with  added  joy  (according  to  his  nature) 
by  the  knowledge  that  the  young  scribe  whose  work  he  so 
maltreated  was  incensed  to  such  an  extent  that  he  could 
not  bring  himself  to  demand  payment  for  the  work  he  had 
done. 

Old-Time  Journalists. — I  suppose  this  indiscriminate 
use  of  the  sub-editor's  blue  pencil  was  due  to  counter^ 


Lord  Bi'rnham, 


Mr.  Frank  Lr.nvn 


^ 


LijRD 
N'   RTHCLIFFE 


'llIK    I.A1K 


I'l 


The  Latf. 
Lord  Glkni,>k. 


The  Popular  Press  17 

ing  the  offensive  of  the  "penny-a-liners."  These  gentle- 
men were  still  flourishing  in  my  early  days,  and  as  they 
got  paid  by  the  line,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  spinning 
out  of  sentences  into  paragraphs  and  of  paragraphs  into 
columns  was  developed  into  a  fine  art.  The  coming  of 
the  popular  Press  sounded  the  death-knell  of  their 
activities.  With  them,  I  am  bound  to  say,  the  ruthless- 
ness  of  the  sub-editor  to  a  large  extent  departed. 

I  think  their  place  was  filled  for  a  long  time  by  the  old- 
time  reporter  who  was  paid  a  given  sum  for  each  engage- 
ment, there  being  an  understanding  that  he  would  have 
one  engagement  a  day  at  least.  His  life  was  a  happy  one. 
At  about  eleven  o'clock  or  noon  he  would  drop  in  on  the 
news  editor,  who  was  sitting  with  his  engagement  diary 
before  him.  "Got  a  good  dinner  to-night?"  the  reporter 
would  ask  if  he  were  on  familiar  terms  with  his  chief,  as 
he  generally  was.  If  he  were  a  favourite  he  would  get  his 
dinner;  and  if,  again,  he  was  a  favourite  with  his  comrades 
on  other  papers,  very  likely  he  would  enjoy  his  dinner,  the 
wines  and  the  cigars,  without  bothering  to  take  any  notes, 
but  would  avail  himself  of  the  work  of  one  of  the  others  by 
writing  his  report  from  notes  that  had  been  taken  for 
another  journal.  Then,  as  often  as  not,  he  would  send  his 
manuscript  down  to  the  office  by  a  messenger,  and  go  off 
to  a  music-hall  lest  by  some  mischance  there  should  be 
another  engagement  waiting  for  someone  at  the  office.  In 
such  an  atmosphere  it  was  not  easy  to  acquire  the 
habits  of  industry,  initiative,  and  perseverance  which 
are  indispensable  qualifications  to  success  in  the  "little 
inky  alley." 

Literary  Specialists. — Mention  should  also  be  made 
of  such  celebrities  as  crime  specialists — journalists  who 
were  on  terms  of  familiarity  with  Scotland  Yard,  and  who 
were  ready  to  track  down  murderers  and  criminals  in  the 
interests  of  their  papers.  Others  specialised  in  such  de- 
lightful  subjects  as   inquests,   and   when   a   murder  or  a 

r, 


iS  The  Street  of  Ink 

suicide  was  reported,  the  expert  was  there  to  follow  it  up. 
Very  often  these  specialists  found  nothing  demanding  their 
attention,  and  had  to  devote  their  talents  to  other  calls. 
One  man  I  know  was  once  given  the  agreeable  task 
of  calling  on  a  lady  of  title  to  inquire  whether  a 
report  that  she  had  been  found  drunk  and  disorderly 
were  true  ! 

Since  those  days  (and  as  I  write  the  interval  is  a  com- 
paratively brief  one)  sensationalism  of  that  nature  has 
given  place  to  the  stupendous  drama  of  the  war.  To 
some  extent  we  have  seen  a  recurrence  of  the  older  style  of 
writing,  although  it  is  curious  to  note  that  some  time  after 
the  outbreak  of  hostilities  we  were  served  with  an  official 
series  of  messages  by  "  Eye-Witness,"  in  which  that 
curious  person  apparently  endeavoured  to  satisfy  the  public 
requirements  for  news  with  petty  paragraphs,  the  puerility 
of  which  is  shown  by  a  comparison  with  the  accounts  later 
sent  by  trained  journalists. 

Great  as  the  changes  have  been  in  the  literary  depart- 
ments of  newspapers  during  the  past  twenty-one  years,  the 
growing  importance  of  the  commercial  departments  has 
been  even  more  striking.  As  I  look  back,  two  outstanding 
personalities  come  to  my  mind  in  connection  with  the  busi- 
ness side  of  journalism — Sir  John  Robinson  and  Mr. 
Moberly  Bell.  Both  started  on  the  editorial  side,  for 
prior  to  becoming  manager  of  The  Times  Mr.  Bell  was 
correspondent  of  that  paper  in  Egypt,  while  Mr.  Robin- 
son (as  he  then  was)  was  editor  of  a  comparatively  small 
journal  before  joining  the  Daily  News.  Sir  John  Robin- 
son combined  editorial  with  managerial  control  at  the  time 
when  I  came  into  Fleet  Street,  and  some  of  the  most 
striking  commercial  developments  of  the  paper,  particu- 
larly regarding  printing  machinery,  took  place  under  his 
guidance. 

An  Ideal  for  Journalists. — Mr.  Moberly  Bell  is 
even    better    remembered    to-day    as    a    great    newspaper 


The  Popular  Press  19 

manager  because  he  figured  later  on  the  scene.  I  would 
describe  him  as  the  prototype  of  the  modern  newspaper 
manager  as  distinct  from  the  manager  having  editorial 
control.  He  took  large  views  of  his  office,  and  I  well  re- 
member hearing  him  talk  about  journalistic  ideals  and 
saying  : 

"The  ideal  of  modern  journalism  is  the  ideal  of  modern 
business ;  it  is  the  ideal  of  every  act  that  we  ought  to  per- 
form;  it  is  the  ideal  of  the  English  gentleman.  If  you 
will  keep  to  that,  whether  you  are  an  advertiser,  canvasser, 
agent,  journalist,  messenger,  anything  you  will,  jour- 
nalism will  take  care  of  itself." 

The  late  Mr.  E.  E.  Peacock,  of  the  Morning  Post,  was 
another  manager  whose  personality  is  still  well  re- 
membered in  Fleet  Street. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  enormous  amount  of  money 
involved  in  the  production  of  the  modern  newspaper 
should  call  for  special  business  knowledge  such  as  the 
old  editorial  men  would  have  scorned  to  acquire.  No  one 
recognises  more  than  I  do  the  supreme  importance  of 
editorial  genius  in  the  conduct  of  newspapers,  but  this 
should  be  accompanied  by  equal  ability  on  the  business 
side.  Some  men  combine  both  requisites,  but  they  are 
rare,  and  fortunate  are  the  papers  with  which  they  are 
associated. 

The  Paper  Problem. — To  give  an  instance  of  the  im- 
portance of  the  commercial  department  of  a  modern  daily 
one  has  only  to  turn  to  the  paper  supply.  The  contract 
may  cover  a  period  of  five  years,  and  all  fluctuations  which 
may  take  place  in  prices  during  that  period  must  be  taken 
into  consideration.  The  total  amount  involved  will,  of 
course,  run  into  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pounds.  Price 
is  only  one  factor  to  be  thought  of,  the  other  being 
quality.  The  printing  of  half-tones  on  fast  rotary 
presses  adds  to  the  responsibility  of  the  paper  buyer, 
particularly  when,  as  at  the  time  of  writing,  the  scarcity 


20  The  Street  of  Ink 

of    sulphite   pulp    makes    it    impossible    to    maintain    the 
normal  quality. 

The  paper  problem,  which  has  necessitated  a  general 
reduction  in  the  number  of  pages  in  newspapers,  has 
shown,  I  think,  that  for  all  practical  purposes  the  small 
newspaper  answers  the  requirements  of  the  average  reader. 
The  Morning  Leader  habitually  published  eight-page 
papers.  Other  papers  succumbed  to  competition  and  in- 
creased the  number,  and  I  suppose  that  in  the  future  the 
same  thing  will  happen  again.  That  will  depend  largely 
upon  the  advertiser  and  the  newspaper  commercial  depart- 
ments which  minister  to  his  wants.  Before  the  war,  when 
the  standard  size  of  the  halfpenny  papers  was  twelve  pages, 
the  number  was  frequently  increased  to  fourteen  pages, 
and  occasionally  to  sixteen  pages,  in  order  to  accommodate 
advertisers.  Perhaps,  on  occasion,  we  shall  have  our 
dailies  rivalling  the  Sunday  papers  of  America,  often  with 
their  sixty  pages  and  a  twenty-page  coloured  supplement 
thrown  in.  The  Times  has  to  some  extent  done  this  with 
its  unique  supplements,  but  papers  may  yet  be  constrained 
to  adopt  the  practice  and  make  general  advertisements  part 
of  the  ordinary  issue.  In  that  case  the  editorial  matter 
will  have  to  be  very  good,  or  the  public  will  say  what  an 
old  lady  once  remarked  petulantly  of  a  popular  magazine, 
"This  paper  seems  to  contain  nothing  but  advertisements." 
A  City  magnate,  who  ought  to  have  known  better,  re- 
marked to  me  some  time  ago  that  he  would  cheerfully  pay 
sixpence  daily  for  his  paper  if  it  did  not  contain  any 
advertisements,  as  they  were  a  positive  eyesore  to  him.  I 
told  him  that  probably  he  would  then  have  to  pay  between 
^1,000  and  ;^2,ooo  a  day,  as  he  would  be  about  the  only 
man  who  would  want  such  a  paper.  Quite  apart  from  the 
important  trade  announcements  which  are  made  regularly, 
such  advertisements  as  those  of  the  theatres  or  alterations 
in  the  railway  time-tables  are  of  the  utmost  value  not 
only  to  the  public  but  also  to  business  men.   Experience  has 


TheiPopular  Press  21 

taught  the  newspaper  proprietor  that  the  reader  does  want 
advertisements,  and  regards  these  announcements  as  im- 
portant items  in  the  news  of  the  day.  It  will  probably  be 
fresh  in  the  reader's  mind  that  recently  an  evening  paper 
was  started  w'hich  enjoyed  but  a  brief  career.  The  first 
week  no  advertisements  were  printed,  and  the  general  im- 
pression was  unattractive,  showing  how  advertising  gives 
variety  to  the  news  sheets. 

Newspaper  Sizes. — The  smaller  newspaper  served 
one  very  useful  function ;  it  compelled  brevity.  The  con- 
tributor found  that  it  answered  no  useful  purpose  to  call  a 
"fire"  a  "conflagration."  He  learned  the  practical  appli- 
cation of  a  piece  of  advice  which  I  have  never  forgotten, 
"Never  use  big  words,  they  mean  so  little."  The  news- 
paper reader  to-day  has  no  use  for  mere  rhetoric.  Any 
Parliamentarian  (excuse  the  length  of  that  word,  but 
"politician"  will  not  do)  will  tell  you  that  oratory  of  the 
Gladstonian  style,  admirable  as  it  was,  would  not  impress 
the  public  any  more  than  the  House  of  Commons.  There 
are  still  one  or  two  exponents  of  it  at  Westminster  who 
are  listened  to  good-humouredly  because  of  the  affection 
they  command,  but  it  would  not  be  tolerated  for  any  other 
reason.  Years  ago  both  newspaper  articles  and  speeches 
ran  into  excessive  lengths,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
Mr.  Lloyd  George's  budget,  which  I  heard  before  the 
war,  was  finished  in  under  two  hours,  while  Mr.  McKenna 
disposed  of  his  gigantic  war  budgets  with  even  greater 
brevity. 

All  one's  impressions  and  experiences,  however,  despite 
their  variety  and  extent,  are  only  valuable  in  proportion  as 
they  can  be  amplified  by  the  experiences  of  others.  To 
tell  the  story  of  the  Street  of  Ink  one  must  of  necessity 
take  the  various  newspapers  and  sections  of  the  Press  in- 
dividually, as  far  as  one  can,  and  by  treating  them  in  as 
much  detail  as  possible,  endeavour  to  give  the  reader  a 
sketch   in  outline  of  the  developments  which  have  taken 


22  The  Street  of  Ink 

place  of  late  years,  and  the  methods  and  personalities  of 
the  men  responsible  for  them.  I  shall  now  ring  up  the 
curtain  in  order  to  review  their  enterprises  and  reveal 
many  interesting  facts  concerning  them,  a  large  number 
of  which,  up  to  the  present,  have  been  secret  history. 


CHAPTER  III 


"the  times" 


When  one  comes  to  write  about  The  Times,  it  is  inevitable 
that  one  should  write  much  about  Lord  Northcliffe.  I  told 
him  so  in  effect,  and  he  replied  that  I  forgot  altogether 
the  great  work  which  had  been  done  by  the  men  on  the 
staff    in    recent    years,    and    by    "scholars    like    Geoffrey 

Robinson,  Wickham  Steed,  and  a  score  of  others  whose 
names  may  not  be  familiar  in  Fleet  Street,  but  are  well 
known  in  spheres  which  have  weight." 

I  believe  that  Lord  Northcliffe  knows  more  about  the 
history  of  The  Times  than  any  other  man  living.  I  believe 
equally  that  I  know  more  about  it  now  than  most  people  in 
Fleet  Street,  chiefly  because  he  favoured  me  with  his  con- 
fidence. Some  of  these  secrets  I  propose,  w'ith  his  con- 
sent, to  tell  in  these  pages,  but  I  shall  adhere  to  my 
original  contention,  despite  all  Lord  Northcliffe  may  say, 
that  in  the  world  of  journalism  The  Times  and  Lord  North- 
cliffe are  synonymous  terms.  That  is  not  a  bad  thing  for 
The  Times.  In  the  vital  periods  of  its  history  it  has  been 
associated  in  the  public  mind  with  certain  great  men,  par- 
ticularly John  Walter  the  Second,  Sir  W.  H.  Russell  and 
de  Blowitz.  Apart  from  them,  the  public  knew  nothing 
about  the  doings  in  Printing  House  Square.  One  met  the 
prominent  members  of  the  staff  and  knew  them  by  name, 
but  as  soon  as  they  disappeared  into  the  building  they 
seemed  to  become  swallowed  by  anonymity.  To-day  the 
building  is  dominated  by  the  personality  of  Lord  North- 
cliffe. 

Delane's    Self-confidence. — I    always    like    the    de- 

2-J 


4  The  Street  of  Ink 

scription  in  Sir  Edward  Cook's  "Life  of  Delane  "  which 
tells  how  Delane,  then  a  young  man  of  twenty-three, 
rushed  into  the  lodgings  which  he  shared  with  John  Black- 
wood, the  publisher,  in  a  state  of  the  highest  spirits,  and 
said  :  "By  Jove  !  John,  what  do  you  think  has  happened? 
I  am  editor  of  The  Times!"  "In  later  years,"  the  narra- 
tive concludes,  "he  was  asked  whether  he  had  felt  no 
tremors.  '  Not  a  bit,'  was  the  reply,  '  what  I  dislike  about 
you  young  men  of  the  present  day  is  that  you  all  shrink 
from  responsibility.'  " 

It  is  because  he  never  feared  responsibility  that  Lord 
Northcliffe  wields  the  power  that  is  his  to-day.  I  said  just 
now  that  his  dominating  personality  was  a  good  thing  for 
The  Times.  It  will  be  good  for  one  thing,  because  the 
organisation  in  that  building  is  more  human. 

Lord  Northcliffe  encourages  initiative,  as  everyone  in 
Fleet  Street  knows.  He  believes  in  big  men  for  big 
things.  The  present  manager,  Howard  Corbett,  prac- 
tically runs  the  whole  building  without  interference.  He 
has  the  distinction  of  being  one  of  the  youngest  managers 
in  the  history  of  the  paper,  and,  if  he  overcome  a  great 
delicacy  of  constitution,  may  leave  a  mark  in  Printing 
House  Square  as  permanent  as  that  of  his  predecessors. 

Qualifications  for  Journalism. — Lord  Northcliffe 
charged  me  with  saying  that  he  himself  was  not  a  good 
man  of  business  !  I  replied  that  w^hat  I  had  said  was  that 
I  thought  he  was  a  better  journalist  than  man  of  business, 
which  might  still  leave  him  a  good  business  man.  He 
thereupon  expressed  the  opinion  that  a  man  could  be  a 
successful  newspaper  proprietor  without  being  an  adept 
in  business. 

Incidentally,  it  might  be  added  that  the  history  of  Fleet 
Street  shows  that  a  man  can  be  a  commercial  genius  and 
no  journalist,  but  yet  make  a  success  of  a  paper.  It 
is  difficult  to  find  the  man  with  imagination  and  fore- 
sight who  can  plan  ahead  and  always  judge  what  is  the 


"The  Times"  25 

right  policy  to  be  followed,  whereas  it  is  probably  easier  to 
get  good  writers. 

Lord  Northcliffe  depreciates  his  own  achievements  with 
The  Times.  One  can  only  reply  that  to  us,  who  are  in 
Fleet  Street,  his  own  spirit  breathes  in  every  column  of  the 
paper.  When  I  complimented  him  on  his  well-known 
article,  "The  Army  Behind  the  Army,"  his  only  comment 
was,  "Thank  you  very  much,  it  w'as  well  liked,  and  every 
word  of  it  true." 

He  wishes  a  man  to  have  a  mind  of  his  own,  and  has 
the  keenest  eye  possible  for  a  man's  qualities.  A  thing 
that  fascinates  me  about  his  conversation  is  his  gift 
of  summing  up  a  man  in  a  phrase.  John  Walter  the 
Second  he  described  to  me  as  "the  greatest  man  The  Times 
ever  had."  Another  personality  he  summed  up  as  "a  fine 
book  reviewer — nothing  more."  "A  great  gentleman" — 
"an  incompetent  ass,"  and  so  on.  When  one  knew  the 
names  and  careers  of  the  men  referred  to,  the  amazing 
aptness  of  the  epithets  was  apparent. 

Lord  Northcliffe's  Personality. — This  gift  of  dia- 
gnosing character,  so  to  speak,  is  allied  to  an  extra- 
ordinary memory.  I  have  rarely  met  a  man  who  remem- 
bered facts  and  faces  so  well.  Lord  Northcliffe  has, 
indeed,  a  remarkable  equipment  of  strength  of  mind  and 
manner  which  gives  to  his  personality  a  wonderful  charm. 
As  he  uses  his  memory  for  facts  and  figures  in  his  daily 
work,  so  he  uses  his  memory  for  faces  and  conversation  in 
the  exercise  of  a  supreme  tact  that  conveys  to  one  whom 
he  has  met  before  a  gratifying  sensation  of  having  left 
an  agreeable  impression.  This  is  heightened  by  the  way 
in  which  he  devotes  his  whole  attention  to  the  subject  he 
discusses,  whether  it  is  personal  or  otherwise.  For  the 
moment  he  locks  every  compartment  of  his  brain  save  one 
which  he  uses  for  the  time  being.  When  you  have  gone, 
he  will  lock  this,  too,  and  open  another.  If,  in  the  course 
of  conversation,  you  ask  him  a  question,  there  is  another 


26  The  Street  of  Ink 

mental  pigeon-hole  fully  stored  with  all  the  information 
you  want.  Never,  apparently,  could  there  be  a  mind  better 
equipped  for  its  special  needs  and  more  methodically 
ordered  than  his. 

I  had  a  long  conversation  with  him  once,  and  after 
asking  him  not  to  let  me  detain  him  unduly,  inquired  his 
opinion  why  the  busiest  men  always  seem  to  have  the 
most  time  to  spare. 

"They  do  not  necessarily  have  the  most  time  to  spare," 
he  replied.  "It  depends  on  what  time  of  the  day  they 
begin  work." 

An  Eye  for  Good  Men. — His  own  work  begins  at 
5.30  a.m.  It  ends  about  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  he 
retires  about  9.30  to  10.  My  lamented  friend,  Hugh 
Spottiswoode,  of  delightful  memory,  told  me  once  that  he 
was  staying  with  Lord  Northcliffe  at  Sutton  Place.  They 
had  arranged  to  go  over  to  Woking  for  a  round  of  golf, 
and  had  an  early  breakfast  at  eight  o'clock.  His  host  had 
already  dictated  two  leading  articles  when  they  sat  down  to 
the  meal.  For  social  life  he  cares  little,  although  I  liked 
the  picture  he  indicated  when  he  said,  "  I  am  going  to  the 
theatre  to-night,  but  only  because  I  want  to  take  some 
people  who  are  anxious  to  see  the  performance." 

From  such  things  one  gathers  the  secrets  of  Lord 
Northcliffe's  power.  He  is  very  human  himself  and  he 
knows  human  nature.  That  is  one  reason  why  he  knows 
how  to  pick  men.  I  remarked  recently  that  the  journalist 
who  does  good  work  may  find  that  very  keen  eyes  are 
upon  him.  The  present  editor  of  The  Times  is  a  case  in 
point.  Lord  Northcliffe,  unknown  to  him,  watched  his 
career  for  a  considerable  time,  and  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  he  possessed  unique  qualifications  for  his  task.  His 
successes  at  Eton  and  Oxford  culminated  in  a  Fellowship 
of  All  Souls,  of  which  he  is  now  sub-warden,  a  secretary- 
ship to  Lord  Milner,  and  the  complete  control  of  the  Star 
and  Leader  groups  of  journals  in  Johannesburg.     It  was 


^ 


•^v 


■J: 


VIEW    OF    THE    HOUSE    OF    JOHN    WALTER    THE    SECOND.    SHOWING 
THE    ELM    TREE    IN    PRINTING    HOUSE    SQUARE,    1794 


VIEW    OF    THE    OLD    TKINIINC;    OIllCIv    OF     "IMF    TIMES 


"The  Times''  27 

his  work  as  Times  correspondent  in  South  Africa  which 
brought  him  prominently  under  the  notice  of  Lord  North- 
cliffe,  with  whom  he  found  himself  in  strict  accord  in  their 
mutual  views.  Mr.  Geoffrey  Robinson's  unique  editorial 
gifts,  the  independent  manner  in  which  he  conducted 
journals  owned  by  mine  owners — not  always  in  the  way 
the  mine  owners  wished — especially  appealed  to  the  present 
controlling  proprietor. 

John  Walter  the  Second. — Lord  Northcliffe,  by  the 
way,  paints  a  vivid  picture  of  John  Walter  the  Second, 
which  to  my  mind  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  himself. 
He  describes  him  as  "the  real  inventor  of  modern  English 
journalism."  "The  records  of  The  Times,"  he  says, 
"show  that  Mr.  Walter  was  a  driving  force  such  as  does 
not  exist  in  English  journalism  in  our  time."  Residing  in 
a  charming  old  house,  which  is  still  part  of  the  great 
premises  at  Printing  House  Square,  and  of  which  a  view 
appears  in  the  adjoining  illustration,  he  had  around  him 
in  surrounding  residences  an  emergency  staflf  of  reporters, 
compositors,  and  machine-men,  who  could  be  summoned 
at  a  moment's  notice  by  the  loud  ringing  of  a  hand-bell. 
In  addition  to  the  ordinary  issue  of  The  Times,  which  was 
published  at  an  hour  varying  between  five  and  eight  each 
morning,  emergency  issues  appeared  on  occasions  at  all 
hours  of  the  day,  weekdays  and  Sundays.  Competition 
was  at  least  as  keen  in  those  days  as  it  is  at  present,  and 
the  fight  between  The  Times  and  the  Morning  Chronicle 
equalled  in  ferocity  and  expenditure  anything  of  the  kind 
in  modern  newspaper  warfare.  As  a  writer,  John  Walter 
was  possessed  of  a  style  so  vigorous  as  to  bring  him  into 
violent  conflict  with  his  contemporaries. 

Secret  History  of  "The  Times." — I  only  wish  I  could 
tell  all  the  interesting  things  Lord  Northcliffe  told  me 
about  the  history  of  The  Times.  I  must  content  myself 
with  a  few  of  the  most  important  items,  relating  in  the 
main   to  the  past  twenty-one  years.     As  yet  there  is  no 


28  The  Street  of  Ink 

standard  book  covering  the  history  of  the  paper,  and  for 
this  reason  I  will  mention  one  or  two  facts  which  deserve 
record.  An  early  view  of  The  Times  printing  office  shows 
the  words  Evening  Mail  on  each  side  of  "  The  Tirnes 
Office  "  (see  the  plate  facing  page  27).  It  is  not  generally 
known  that  the  Evening  Mail  is  still  in  existence  under 
the  title  of  the  Mail.  It  is  issued  tri-weekly,  and  Lord 
Northcliffe  says  that  it  has  "a  curious  circulation"  in 
China  and  the  Far  East.  He  made  a  piquant  comparison 
for  me  between  The  Times  in  the  early  part  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  and  to-day.  "It  was,"  he  said,  "in  con- 
stant trouble  with  the  authorities,  who  punished  it  by 
fining  and  imprisoning  the  proprietors,  depriving  them 
of  the  patronage  of  Government  advertisements,  and 
otherwise  behaving  themselves  as  Governments  of  a 
hundred  years  later." 

His  description  of  the  second  John  Walter  as  the 
inventor  of  modern  English  journalism  is  supported  by 
many  examples  of  his  enterprise.  On  the  general  estab- 
lishment of  steam-packet  boats,  he  engaged  them  for  the 
exclusive  service  of  The  Times  with  apparently  reckless 
extravagance,  and  the  earliest  railway  engines  were  con- 
stantly used  for  transmission  by  the  reporters.  He  him- 
self on  occasion  would  set  up  his  writings  in  type  with  his 
own  hand.  In  this  connection  the  engraving  in  The  Times 
office  of  the  first  impression  (dedicated  to  John  Walter) 
from  a  self-acting  printing  press  is  not  without  interest. 

The  Times  has  always  been  well  printed,  and  naturally 
so,  for  the  Walters  were  originally  printers  and  were  very 
progressive.  It  had  the  very  earliest  rotary  presses  and 
type-setting  machines,  and  it  is  in  accordance  with  the 
fitness  of  things  that  since  the  latest  change  of  ownership 
the  mechanical  establishment  at  Printing  House  Square 
has  been  entirely  refitted.  In  order  to  obtain  the  present 
clearness  of  type.  Lord  Northcliffe,  after  examining  the 
working  of  the  monotype  in  the  United  States,  installed  it 


"The  Times"  29 

at  Printing  House  Square,  and  it  is  this,  in  conjunction 
with  the  very  latest  Goss  and  Hoe  presses,  and  paper  made 
of  finest  Newfoundland  pulp,  which  gives  a  general 
appearance  that  leaves  little  to  be  desired. 

A  Period  of  Decline. — To  go  back  to  the  time  when 
what  I  may  term  "the  great  period  of  decline"  set  in,  we 
find  that  Printing  House  Square  was  suffering  from  what 
Lord  Northcliffe  describes  as  "Anno  Domini,"  for  in  his 
words  "it  was  '  Anno  Domini  '  that  was  largely  responsible 
for  the  blunder  of  the  publication  of  the  forged  Parnell 
letters,  a  tragedy  in  the  history  of  newspapers  almost 
without  precedent." 

Prior  to  that  culminating  disaster,  however.  The  Times 
had  been  suffering  from  over-confidence,  due  to  unin- 
terrupted success.  Having  demolished  the  Morning 
Chronicle  and  the  rest  of  its  contemporaries,  the  proprietors 
did  not  pay  sufficient  attention  to  the  oncoming  of  the 
Daily  Telegraph,  which,  in  Lord  Northcliffe's  words, 
"appeared  in  Fleet  Street  in  1855,  in  the  rags  of  Cinderella, 
and  was  extremely  well  gowned  in  186 1,  when  it  began  to 
beat  The  Times  in  obtaining  news  of  the  Civil  War  in  the 
dis-United  States."  The  "human  interest"  of  The  Times 
also  declined,  and  its  recording  of  the  lighter  side  of  life 
which  had  formed  a  real  part  of  its  success,  was  not  so 
pronounced  as  before — facts  which  the  late  Lord  Burnham 
and  his  father  were  not  slow  to  appreciate.  None  the  less, 
the  actual  prosperity  of  The  Times  continued  to  increase, 
and  did  so  continuously  until  the  Franco-Prussian  war, 
when  the  paper,  though  well  served,  was  badly  defeated  in 
gathering  war  information  by  the  Daily  News.  In  1870 
Delane  was  no  longer  as  active  as  he  had  been,  and  had 
not  the  stimulus  of  association  with  so  "live"  a  man  as  the 
second  John  Walter.  Between  1870  and  1875  The  Times, 
though  still  an  active  newspaper,  suffered  so  gravely  in 
the  matter  of  news-gathering  that  it  became  necessary  for 
its  readers,  who  were  declining  sleadily,  to  furnish  them- 


30  The  Street  of  Ink 

selves  with  at  least  one  other  newspaper  in  order  to  be 
certain  that  they  were  not  missing  important  intelligence. 

Thus  came  a  period  in  the  history  of  The  Times  which 
forms  a  most  melancholy  chapter,  and  constitutes  a  very 
long  "darkest  hour  before  the  dawn."  The  circulation 
fell  and  the  revenue  declined,  despite  various  schemes. 
A  violent  effort  to  regain  its  circulation  was  made  by 
the  establishment  of  what  was  known  as  the  Book  Club, 
by  which,  on  payment  of  £^  i8s.  per  annum,  The  Times 
would  be  delivered  daily,  together  with  a  free  service  of 
all  books  on  the  principle  of  Mudie's  Library.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  dwell  upon  the  scheme,  or  upon  the  impos- 
sibilities of  effectively  carrying  on  so  grandiose  a  project, 
or  upon  the  inevitable  quarrelling  with  the  publishers  and 
booksellers,  or  upon  the  growth  of  the  litigation  which 
accompanied  this  experiment.  It  is  unprofitable  to  dilate 
upon  the  waning  of  efficiency  in  distribution  and  the 
passing  into  oblivion  of  its  machinery  of  production.  A 
certain,  but  very  small,  body  of  readers  stayed  staunch, 
the  majority  of  them  being  foreign  bankers,  consuls, 
ambassadors,  and  clubs. 

Most  gallant  was  the  attempt  to  save  the  situation 
made  by  Mr.  Moberly  Bell,  and  it  was  he  who  sought 
Lord  Northcliffe's  assistance  and  formed  the  basis  of  a 
combination  of  the  old  proprietors  and  new  blood  which 
brought  back  to  The  Times  not  only  its  letters  from 
public  men,  but  a  sale  of  200,000  copies  daily,  and  a 
restoration  of  the  old  prosperity.  It  may  interest  the 
newspaper  world  to  know  that  I  have  authority  for  stating 
that  the  profits  of  The  Times  after  its  reduction  to  a  penny 
reached  almost  the  highest  figure  in  its  long  history.  To 
meet  war  conditions  the  price  was  increased  to  i^^d.,  and 
afterwards  to  2d.,  but  I  do  not  know  what  effect  the  in- 
crease has  had  on  the  sales  or  revenue. 

Many  legends  circulate  in  newspaper  circles  as  to  Lord 
Northcliffe's  first  connection  with  The  Times.     As  a  matter 


"The  Times"  31 

of  fact,  his  advice  was  sought  by  the  head  of  the  Walter 
family  nearly  twenty  years  ago,  and  he  made  suggestions 
which  it  is  believed  would  have  averted  difficulties,  but 
which,  for  internal  reasons,  could  not  be  adopted.  More 
recently,  at  a  time  of  the  gravest  crisis  in  its  history,  he 
heard  quite  by  chance  that  the  paper  had  already  changed 
hands.  The  statement  was  nearly,  but  not  quite,  true. 
Unknown  to  the  editor,  or  the  then  manager,  Mr. 
Moberly  Bell,  an  arrangement  for  the  sale  of  The  Times 
had  been  come  to  without  consulting  the  whole  of  the 
proprietors,  most  of  whom,  together  with  Mr.  John 
Walter,  the  chairman  of  the  present  company,  still  re- 
tain holdings.  The  accuracy  of  the  news  given  to  Lord 
Northcliffe  was  confirmed  by  the  late  Mr.  W.  T.  Stead, 
who  was  always  interested  in  Times  matters,  and  a  para- 
graph in  the  Observer,  then  owned  by  Lord  Northcliffe, 
produced  active  intervention  on  the  part  of  shareholders 
who  had  not  been  consulted. 

As  an  instance  of  Lord  Northcliffe's  powers  of 
organisation,  and  the  way  in  which  he  delegates  responsi- 
bility, I  need  only  refer  to  the  fact  that  he  spends,  as  a 
rule,  at  least  half  of  the  year  out  of  England.  His  system 
is  to  select  capable  people  and  leave  them  to  their  own 
responsibility;  and  even  during  the  re-establishment  of 
The  Times  he  and  his  brother,  Lor3  Rothermere,  were 
engaged  in  what  he  describes  as  "a  far  more  arduous 
enterprise " — the  initiation  of  the  huge  undertaking  in 
Newfoundland,  with  its  3,400  square  miles  of  territory, 
its  railways,  steamships,  and  paper  mills.  At  the  same 
time,  too,  were  rising  the  great  paper  mills  at  Gravesend, 
where  much  of  the  paper  is  made  for  The  Times  and  the 
Paris  edition  of  the  Daily  Mail. 

One  very  interesting  point  emerges  from  a  study  of  the 
history  of  The  Times.  I  have  previously  asserted  that  it 
is  a  mistake  to  believe  that  present-day  conditions  in 
journalism  are  more  strenuous  than  those  of  the  past,  or 


32  The  Street  of  Ink 

more  progressive.  I  am  informed  that  in  the  'sixties, 
for  instance,  the  advertisement  staff  of  The  Times  consisted 
of  more  than  fifty  people,  and  before  that  period  the 
management  was  never  weary  of  setting  forth  the  number 
of  copies  issued  daily  which,  as  was  proved  by  the  purchase 
of  Government  stamps,  equalled  that  of  the  combined  sale 
of  the  other  London  morning  papers.  Of  these,  by  the 
way,  there  were  more  than  there  are  at  this  moment — a 
fact  very  often  forgotten.  The  Times  was  proud  to  an- 
nounce, too,  in  the  fashion  of  modern  American  journals, 
that  its  advertisements  exceeded  in  number  those  of  any 
other  publication. 

This  account  of  The  Times  would  not  be  complete 
without  a  reference  to  the  Weekly  Edition,  which,  although 
little  seen  in  England,  is  known  to  every  English-speaking 
community  abroad;  to  the  literary  supplement,  which  owed 
its  origin  to  Mr.  Moberly  Bell;  and  to  The  Times  law 
reports  and  other  supplements.  It  is  indeed  a  complete 
newspaper,  worthy  of  the  reputation  and  energies  of  Lord 
Northcliffe,  who  is  contributing  such  an  interesting 
chapter  to  its  history. 


>rR.  T.  p.  O'Connor, 
M.P. 


II 


j 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  "morning  post" 


Some  of  those  who  wield  the  greatest  influence  in  jour- 
nalism are  more  or  less  unknown  except  by  name.  They 
prefer  j  remain  in  the  background.  Of  these  the  most 
interesting  figure  is  the  Countess  Bathurst,  the  dominating 
personality  behind  the  Morning  Post. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  Mr.  E.  E.  Peacock,  in  1909,  I 
was  offered  the  important  position  of  general  manager  of 
the  Morning  Post.  Naturally,  it  was  a  most  tempting  pro- 
posal from  every  point  of  view,  and  it  was  rendered  doubly 
attractive  by  the  way  in  which  it  was  made.  If  anything 
could  have  induced  me  to  leave  Stonecutter  Street  it  would 
have  been  the  prospect  of  work  in  the  artistic  build- 
ing in  the  Strand,  coupled  w^ith  the  pleasure  of  being 
associated  with  people  whose  courtesy  and  consideration 
promised  a  delightful  future.  The  only  thing  that  made 
it  impossible  for  me  in  the  end  to  accept  the  offer  was 
the  fact  that  "home  ties,"  represented  by  my  chief  and 
all  the  old  friends  and  colleagues,  were  too  strong  to  be 
broken. 

The  Countess  Bathurst. — Countess  Bathurst  im- 
pressed me  at  once  as  the  possessor  of  exceptional  gifts 
and  ability.  Although  she  is  not  in  Fleet  Street,  she  is  of 
it,  and  it  is  due  solely  to  her  own  deliberate  choice  that  the 
limelight  of  publicity  does  not  reveal  her  capacity.  She 
is  a  rare  combination  of  the  world  which  we  call  "Society  " 
and  the  world  where  great  things  are  done,  and  this  fact 
shows  the  measure  of  her  mind.     I  should  imagine  that 

D  33 


34  The  Street  of  Ink 

she  regards  her  social  obligations  in  much  the  same  way 
that  she  regards  her  duties — as  a  phase  of  life  involving 
responsibility  but  not  frivolity.  It  is  not  my  desire  to 
disturb  the  privacy  in  which  she  wishes  to  remain,  but 
merely  to  record  in  these  notes  an  impression  of  one  of 
the  great  figures  in  the  journalistic  world  of  our  day.  The 
Hon.  Lancelot  Bathurst,  the  younger  brother  of  Earl 
Bathurst,  took  up  the  position  of  manager  instead  of 
myself,  but  unfortunately,  owing  to  a  breakdown  in 
health,  was  obliged  to  give  it  up  after  three  or  four  years' 
enthusiastic  work,  during  which  time  it  was  my  pleasure 
to  meet  him  frequently. 

I  doubt  whether  any  other  country  possesses  a  news- 
paper with  such  unique  characteristics  as  the  Morning 
Post — the  word  "fashionable"  immediately  comes  to  mind 
in  connection  with  it.  It  is  essentially  aristocratic,  as  its 
Society  intelligence  shows,  and  as  one  can  see  from  the 
advertisements  in  which  "Yellow  Plush"  and  "Made- 
moiselle "  and  their  like  make  known  their  qualifications 
for  service  or  inquire  for  vacancies. 

It  would  not  be  right,  however,  to  regard  the  Morning 
Post  merely  as  the  organ  of  Belgravia.  It  has  always  been 
ably  edited,  and  its  influence  is  well  known  to  those  who 
are  acquainted  with  its  history.  Its  greatest  days  date  from 
the  time  when  the  late  Lord  Glenesk  bought  the  paper  and 
by  his  clever  management  and  sound  editing  turned  the 
venture  into  an  assured  success. 

Quaint  Announcements. — It  may  be  interesting  to 
note  that  in  1772,  the  year  of  its  first  publication  as  the 
Morning  Post  and  Daily  Advertising  Pamphlet,  the  size 
of  the  paper  was  eight  pages,  the  dimensions  being  twelve 
inches  long  by  eight  inches  broad. 

The  fifth  number  contained  the  following  announce- 
ment:  "It  having  been  advanced  that  the  Morning  Post 
is  composed  of  advertisements  extracted  from  other  papers, 
not  paid  for  in  this,  the  proprietors,  under  a  necessity  of 


The  "Morning  Post"  35 

rectifying  so  ridiculous  an  assertion,  pledge  their  honour 
to  the  public,  that  no  advertisement  ever  appeared  or  will 
appear  in  this  paper,  which  has  not,  or  which  is  not  ex- 
pected (as  in  the  course  of  business)  to  be  regularly  paid 
for.  It  is  hoped  no  one  will  longer  be  disappointed  in 
not  being  able  to  obtain  this  paper,  as  an  additional 
number  of  hands  are  employed  to  pull  off  an  impression  of 
six  thousand." 

Mr.  Harry  Peacock  tells  me  that  no  fewer  than  fifteen 
of  the  twenty-four  columns  of  the  paper  were  devoted  to 
advertisements,  some  of  which  were  very  quaint  and  in- 
teresting. They  included  one  of  a  State  Lottery  offering 
;^6oo,ooo  in  prizes.  A  full  ticket  cost  £13,  but  a  sixty- 
fourth  share  could  be  bought  for  4s.  Another  announced 
the  performance  of  Henry  the  Eighth  at  Covent  Garden, 
the  prices  of  admission  being :  Boxes,  5s. ;  Pit,  3s. ; 
First  Gallery,  2S. ;  and  Gallery,  is.  It  is  surprising 
to  note  an  advertisement  of  "Shadwell  Mineral  Spaw," 
offering  a  water  "  noted  for  many  excellent  qualities," 
including  the  relief  of  the  palsy,  leprosy,  and  scurvy, 
recommendations  which,  happily,  are  not  necessary 
to-day. 

Mr.  Oliver  Borthwick. — Mr.  A.  K.  Moore  was 
editor  of  the  Morning  Post  the  year  I  came  into  Fleet 
Street.  When  he  died  Mr.  Oliver  Borthwick  filled  the 
vacancy  for  a  few  months  until  the  appointment  of  Mr. 
Algernon  Locker.  The  latter  retired  two  years  after,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Mr.  James  Nicol  Dunn,  Mr.  Fabian 
Ware  followed  him,  but  he  was  not  such  a  familiar  figure 
in  Fleet  Street,  nor  was  Mr.  Spenser  Wilkinson,  who  filled 
the  editorial  chair  for  a  brief  period  until  Mr.  H.  A. 
Gwynne,  the  present  editor,  was  appointed.  No  record  of 
the  Morning  Post  would  be  complete  without  due  ac- 
knowledgment of  his  services.  He  is  considered,  by  those 
qualified  to  judge,  the  greatest  editor  the  paper  has  ever 
had.     A  man  of  unswerving  patriotism  and  single  mind. 


36  The  Street  of  Ink 

when  he  believes  that  a  thing  is  right  he  throws  the  whole 
weight  of  the  journal  in  support  of  it,  and  to  him  are  due 
many  of  the  latest  reforms. 

Mr.  Oliver  Borthwick,  owing  to  the  shortness  of  his 
career,  was  little  known  in  Fleet  Street.  Had  he  lived  he 
might  have  been  a  conspicuous  figure  like  Lord  Burnham, 
and  our  memories  of  him  would  have  been  the  richer  in 
consequence.  He  planned  the  existing  Morning  Post 
offices,  and  one  of  his  last  achievements  was  to  arrange 
for  the  first  fourteen-page  issue  of  the  paper,  which  was 
published  in  1904.  He  also  went  to  America,  and  from 
what  he  learnt  there  installed  the  present  printing 
machines.  He  was  one  of  the  most  popular  young  men 
in  London,  and  his  charm,  courtesy,  and  enormous  power 
of  work,  if  health  had  permitted,  would,  in  the  opinion  of 
his  friends,  have  made  him  one  of  the  greatest  men  of 
the  day. 

The  late  Mr.  E.  E.  Peacock,  the  manager,  was  for 
many  years  honorary  secretary  of  the  Savage  Club.  I 
was  told  of  a  tribute  which  one  of  the  members  paid  to 
him  which  might  equally  be  applied  to  the  impression 
which  he  made  on  his  fellow-journalists  : 

"To  Peacock  duty  was  a  watchword,  and,  as  he  inter- 
preted duty,  it  meant  something  more  than  the  bare  per- 
formance of  that  which  he  had  undertaken  to  do;  he  strove 
to  leave  the  world  a  little  better  than  he  found  it.  It  was  a 
noble  purpose,  and  within  the  sphere  of  his  influence  he 
accomplished  it." 

Such  an  epitaph  reflects  credit  upon  the  man  himself, 
the  paper  he  served,  and  the  profession  he  adorned.  His 
son,  Harry  Peacock,  who  now  occupie?  his  father's  posi- 
tion, inherits  a  proud  legacy  in  the  memory  of  his  record, 
and  may  be  expected  to  maintain  it  worthily. 

An  Aristocratic  Paper. — Any  journalist  studying  the 
progress  of  the  Morning  Post  will  appreciate  the  diffi- 
culties experienced  in  showing  enterprise,  and  the  ability 


The  "Morning  Post"  37 

with  which  the  problem  has  been  solved.  Nothing  is 
easier  than  to  ruin  a  newspaper  by  ill-considered  methods. 
The  Morning  Post  appeals  to  a  public  so  fastidious  that 
Lord  Glenesk  would  not  allow-  display  advertisements  to 
appear  in  its  columns,  and  it  was  indeed  a  sign  of  the  times 
when  this  restriction  was  removed.  Generally  speaking, 
the  editors  adopted  the  sound  policy  of  attracting  atten- 
tion by  means  of  an  excellent  news  service  and  expounding 
strong  opinions  whenever  they  deemed  it  necessary. 
During  the  Great  War  the  outspokenness  of  the  Morning 
Post  kept  it  prominently  before  the  public.  Perhaps  its 
wildest  flight  into  the  realms  of  sensationalism  was  the 
purchase  a  few  years  ago  of  a  French  airship  which  caused 
considerable  excitement  during  its  journey  to  London. 
Lady  Bathurst,  who  had  been  to  Germany,  had  seen  the 
Zeppelins  there  and  noted  the  absorbing  interest  the  Ger- 
man people  took  in  them  as  weapons  of  offence,  even  the 
poorest  giving  their  mite  towards  building  them.  In  1910 
the  Morning  Post  started  a  movement  to  obtain  an  airship 
to  be  presented  to  the  British  Government.  A  French  type 
was  presented — a  semi-rigid — it  being  impossible  at  that 
time  to  obtain  a  rigid  airship,  as  the  latter  class  was  made 
only  in  Germany.  On  its  arrival  in  England,  after  a 
successful  journey  across  the  Channel,  the  airship  acci- 
dentally burst  owing  to  the  doorway  of  the  War  Office 
Aerodrome  being  too  small.  Lord  Roberts,  who  was 
watching  the  airship  being  berthed  by  the  clever  French 
airman  in  charge,  noticed  the  size  of  the  door,  and,  turn- 
ing to  a  bystander,  said  :  "It  is  like  a  glove  on  a  hand — 
not  an  inch  to  spare."  The  moment  afterwards  the 
envelope  caught  on  a  rough  edge,  ripped,  and  the  airship 
collapsed. 

The  Morning  Post  yields  place  to  none  in  the  eminence 
of  its  contributors  and  the  ability  of  its  staff.  Among  my 
own  personal  friends  I  am  happy  to  include  Bromley 
Read,  the  chief  sub-edilor,  a  highly  respected  journalist 


38  The  Street  of  Ink 

and  an  excellent  sportsman ;  and  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to 
pay  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  another  friend,  Captain 
Moyna,  who  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  was  one  of  the 
leader  writers.  He  joined  one  of  the  Scottish  regiments, 
and  was,  I  regret  to  say,  killed  in  action. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE    "daily    telegraph" 

Fleet  Street  is  full  of  strange  contrasts,  and  one  that 
frequently  strikes  me  is  the  disparity  in  its  buildings.  It 
would  not  be  an  exaggeration  to  write  of  it  as  one  of  the 
richest  streets  in  the  world,  having  regard  to  the  capital 
employed  and  the  revenues  earned,  yet  you  find  huge 
newspaper  offices  cheek  by  jowl  with  small  shops  that 
may  be  described  as  suburban,  or  with  empty  instead  of 
palatial  premises  as  neighbours,  while  here  and  there  is  the 
inevitable  public-house.  One  of  the  handsomest  buildings 
is  that  of  the  Daily  Telegraph.  On  one  side  it  adjoins  the 
old  Standard  business  premises  (now  let  out  in  offices, 
one  of  which  I  occupied  in  connection  with  the  Morn 
ing  Leader  for  some  years),  and  on  the  other  a  shoj 
with  offices  above.  Outside  you  get  a  glimpse  of  an 
enormous  hall,  with  a  counter  and  numerous  desks  where 
the  business  of  taking  small  advertisements  by  the 
thousand  is  carried  on.  But  you  get  the  real  atmosphere 
when  you  pass  through  the  hall  and  up  the  wide,  pleasant 
staircase  with  its  homely  pictures  at  the  far  end.  On  the 
first  floor  you  will  find  two  interesting  rooms  of  historic 
interest  to  journalists.  In  one  sits  the  veteran  managing 
editor,  Mr.  Le  Sage,  the  successor  of  Sir  Edwin  Arnold, 
whom  Lord  Burnham  described  (at  the  dinner  given  to 
Mr.  Le  Sage  when  he  was  entertained  in  celebration  of 
his  jubilee  with  the  paper)  as  "the  greatest  man  who,  after 
Dr.  Johnson,  ever  walked  Fleet  Street."  The  late  Lord 
Burnham  used  this  room,  and  when  I  saw  Mr.  Le  Sage 
there  he  was  sitting  in  the  same  old  comfortable  chair  that 
his  former  chief  used. 

39 


40  The  Street  of  Ink 

An  Historic  Room. — Lord  Burnham's  own  room 
contains  many  interesting  pictures  of  men  prominently- 
associated  with  the  Daily  Telegraph,  including  portraits 
of  the  founder  of  the  paper,  Lord  Burnham's  father  and 
grandfather,  Sir  Edwin  Arnold,  George  Augustus  Sala, 
Le  Sage,  Bennet  Burleigh,  Clement  Scott,  and  a  very 
interesting  photograph  showing  the  late  Lord  Burnham 
surrounded  by  the  leading  lights  of  the  staff. 

The     original     contents     bill, 

MM^^MMMjBk         here    reproduced,    also    hangs   on 

Vl||  ECDIIPU  ^^^     ^^^^^'     ^^^     claims     special 

1  fclifcimiftB   il  attention    owing    to    the    remark- 

grlce  One  genny.      able     freshness    of    the     printing 

7HIS  DAY'S  NEW&  which,  after  so  many  years,  is 
Mmdall  JmP' 26^     hardly  discoloured. 

OFFICIAL  TELEGMMSimiA        A  picture   that   interested   me 

Position' Baifeloch^lucknou/  particularly  w^as  a  signed  por- 
AmvalorjReinfOTCCmentS    ^rait    of    Charles    Dickens,    who, 

/flr5a/P»fl/lM^^  I    ^^y  ,,,^3    ^    friend    of    the 

HumlkPrniicalimade  •''''f   L""   ^"^"ham  s  and  prob- 

J^7  „ TTTTrz T  ^       hne    of    action    w^hich    the    latter 

m Monopolist RmsineaS  ^^  ^^^  concerning  the  people,  as 
The  fraudulf^l  CoachMldcrs   ^^^^^,^  -^  ^^^  ^^^^^      y      of  the 

The  Original  Contents  Bill 

paper. 
Rooms,  like  clothes,  ser\'e  only  to  reflect  the  person- 
alities of  people.  Never  did  a  building  better  interpret 
the  minds  of  the  men  using  it  than  the  home  of  the  Daily 
Telegraph.  You  find  in  Lord  Burnham  a  spirit  that  har- 
monises perfectly  with  the  great  past  typified  by  the 
pictures  in  his  room.  You  are  conscious  that  the 
traditions  of  his  property  are  exemplified  in  himself  and 
in  the  high  regard  for  his  father  and  his  staff  that  he 
shows  by  his  words.  His  vitality  impresses  me  with  a 
sense  of  mental  and  physical  alertness.  His  sagacity 
is  well    known,    and   he   possesses   in   a   marked   degree 


The  "Daily  Telegraph"  4i 

the  priceless  journalistic  gift  of  a  good  memory.  "That 
was  in  October,  1885,"  he  would  say,  referring  to  an  in- 
cident that  was  mentioned,  and  he  will  give  you  fact 
after  fact  with  the  same  perfect  assurance  without  any 
need  to  corroborate  them  by  references. 

The  Late  Lord  Burnham. — As  one  would  naturally 
expect,  he  speaks  with  the  utmost  enthusiasm  and 
affection  of  his  father.  When  I  asked  him  what  he 
considered  to  be  the  first  Lord  Burnham's  outstanding 
business  qualities,  he  replied  that  he  was  a  man  of 
wonderful  judgment  and  vision  and  made  up  his  mind 
with  lightning-like  rapidity.  He  had  an  almost  un- 
canny power  of  foresight,  and  could  tell  what  line  of 
policy  in  a  given  case  would  ultimately  be  best  for  the 
nation.  Having  made  up  his  mind,  he  would  pursue  that 
policy  unhesitatingly.  He  decided  in  three  minutes  to 
send  Stanley  on  his  famous  expedition  to  Central  Africa 
(then  known  as  the  Dark  Continent).  Incidentally,  he 
asked  Stanley  what  it  would  cost,  but  the  actual  amount 
involved  turned  out  to  be  roughly  from  ;^i5,ooo  to 
;^20,ooo  more  than  the  explorer  estimated. 

Reviewing  his  achievements,  however,  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  the  average  journalist  would  be  most  im- 
pressed with  one  other  outstanding  quality.  He  had  a 
real  gift  for  discovering  men.  The  young  journalist 
(if  my  own  experience  is  any  guide)  must  often  feel  dis- 
couraged at  the  outset  when  he  sees  how  far  he  has  to 
climb  and  how  difficult  it  is  to  mount  each  rung  of  the 
ladder  of  competition  with  thousands  of  others  who  cherish 
the  like  ambitions.  As  he  grows  older  in  the  Street  of  Ink 
he  finds  many  who  will  help  him,  a  few  who  will  fight 
him,  some  who  will  depreciate  him.  If  I  am  asked  the 
best  way  to  succeed,  I  say,  "No  one  can  help  you  so 
much  as  you  can  help  yourself.  Look  for  your  own 
opportunities  and  do  your  best." 

G.  A.  Sala  and  Bennet  Burleigh.— The  late  Lord 


42  The  Street  of  Ink 

Burnham    had   a    rare   faculty   for   finding    the    men    he 
needed.     In  the  early  'sixties  he  found  that  great  Bohe- 
mian, George  Augustus  Sala,  who  was  then  living  in  a 
poor  way  somewhere  in  Covent  Garden.     The  result  of 
his  perspicacity  in  that  connection  is  indisputable.     This 
may  be  taken  as  disposing  of  the  misconception  which  was 
once  pretty  generally  held  that  Sala  inspired  his  chief. 
The  reverse  was  the  case.     During  Lord  (then  Sir  Gar- 
net)   Wolseley's    Egyptian    campaign    in    1882,    he    dis- 
covered another  promising  man  by  noticing  the  work  of  a 
correspondent  of  the   Central   News.      This  was  Bennet 
Burleigh,  who  joined  the  Telegraph  in  1884  and  went  to 
every  war  for  the  paper  afterwards.    Lord  Burnham  says  he 
was  the  strongest  man  he  ever  knew;  and  I  may  mention 
that  when  he  went  to  Madagascar  it  was  said  that  although 
practically  every  man  in  the  expedition  was  ill,  Burleigh 
pulled  through  with  the  aid  of  a  little  whisky  !     Towards 
the  end  of  the  Boer  War  Burleigh  sent  a  private  cable- 
gram to  the  Daily  Telegraph  from   Pretoria  to  indicate 
that    the    Peace,    afterwards    known    as    the    Peace    of 
Vereeniging,    had    been   settled   between    General    Botha 
and  the   British   representatives,    Lord  Milner  and   Lord 
Kitchener.      It  was  the  verse  about  the  Dove  of  Peace 
amplified  by   Easter  greetings,  but  its  true  purport  was 
deciphered  by  Lord  Burnham,  who  w^as  the  only  person  to 
interpret   its  meaning.      Another  of  his  happy  appoint- 
ments was  the  selection  of   W.   L.  Courtney  as  literary 
editor. 

"Telegraph  "  Men. — A  volume  would  be  needed  to 
deal  adequately  with  the  men  who  made  great  reputations 
with  the  Daily  Telegraph.  A  chapter  would  be  given  to 
Clement  Scott,  on  whose  lightest  word  the  theatrical 
managers  would  hang,  because  he  probably  possessed 
more  influence  than  any  other  dramatic  critic  of  his  day, 
and  was  almost  able  to  make  or  break  a  play  or  a  player. 
Scott,  however,  overreached  his  powers  when  he  attacked 


The  "  Daily  Telegraph  "  43 

the  morals  of  the  stage,  and  found  himself  confronted  with 
the  solid  opposition  of  the  leading  theatrical  managers. 
Other  names  to  be  mentioned  are  those  of  Sir  Claude 
Phillips,  for  several  years  Keeper  of  the  Wallace  Collec- 
tion, a  first  cousin  of  the  late  Lord  Burnham,  who  is  the 
art  critic  of  the  Telegraph;  H.  D.  Traill,  brilliant  alike  as 
a  journalist  and  a  classical  scholar,  and  editor,  with  J.  S. 
Mann,  of  that  standard  work,  "Social  England";  Perceval 
Landon  (the  "Londoner"),  whose  achievements  include  an 
expedition  to  Tibet,  and  J.  L.  Garvin,  who  went  to  the 
Telegraph  from  the  Newcastle  Chronicle,  about  the  same 
year  that  I  made  my  entrance  into  the  Street  of  Ink.  Mr. 
Garvin  contributed  much  brilliant  writing  to  the  paper 
under  a  pseudonym,  and  I  have  reason  for  believing  that  it 
was  he  who  described  the  Diamond  Jubilee  and  wrote  a 
wonderful  description  of  the  Coronation.  But,  as  Lord 
Burnham  remarked  to  me,  he  had  to  confine  himself  to 
smaller  spaces  in  those  days  than  those  he  now  commands 
with  the  Observer. 

Reminiscences  of  the  "Telegraph." — As  will  be 
seen,  the  Burnhams  have  been  the  rulers  of  the  Daily 
Telegraph.  Father  and  son,  they  have  been  the  real 
directors  of  the  paper,  although  actually  there  has  been 
no  appointed  editor.  They  have  always  dictated  the  home 
and  foreign  policy  themselves,  assisted  by  the  managing 
editor.  Mr.  Le  Sage,  who  holds  that  office  to-day,  re- 
ported the  last  speech  which  Cobden  made;  and  it  is 
interesting  to  recall  the  fact  that  when  Palmerston  was 
said  to  be  dead,  he  went  to  Brocket  Park  to  ascertain  if 
the  news  were  true.  The  footman  denied  him  admittance, 
but  he  convinced  himself  that  the  rumour  was  correct 
and  reported  accordingly  at  the  office.  It  seems  strange 
that  there  was  no  newspaper  bill  announcing  the  news, 
and  no  reliable  report,  although  at  that  very  time  the 
Prime  Minister  had  been  dead  for  five  hours. 

The  Daily  Telegraph  has  never  stooped  to  sensational- 


44  The  Street  of  Ink 

ism,  although  it  has  a  proud  record  of  enterprise.  It  has 
always  been  something  greater  than  a  newspaper,  as  the 
walls  of  Lord  Burnham's  room  show.  Philanthropy  has 
long  characterised  its  columns.  One  sees  in  a  frame  the 
original  of  the  Shilling  Fund  appeal,  started  at  the  time  of 
the  Boer  War  in  aid  of  the  widows  and  orphans.  The 
fund  was  conceived  by  the  late  Lord  Burnham  and  was 
one  of  his  pet  schemes.  It  realised  the  enormous  sum  of 
;^253,ooo.  I  believe  that  the  first  newspaper  fund  of  all 
was  the  Daily  Telegraph's  subscription  started  in  1862 
for  the  relief  of  sufferers  from  the  cotton  famine  in  Lanca- 
shire. Another  successful  fund  was  started  in  187 1  on 
behalf  of  the  starving  people  in  Paris  at  the  close  of  the 
siege.  In  my  own  time  I  remember  the  Prince  of  Wales's 
Hospital  Fund  to  commemorate  the  Diamond  Jubilee, 
which  produced  over  ;^37,ooo  for  the  hospitals,  and,  of 
course,  the  Boer  War  Fund,  as  w^ell  as  the  first  Shilling 
Fund,  which  was  inaugurated  as  a  national  testimonial  to 
W.  G.  Grace,  and  realised  over  ;^5,ooo. 

One  of  the  Daily  Telegraph's  greatest  "scoops"  (and 
the  one  which  Lord  Burnham  himself  thinks  was  the 
finest  journalistic  achievement  scored  by  his  paper  in  this 
century)  was  the  famous  interview  with  the  German 
Emperor  in  1908.  The  name  of  the  interviewer  is  still  a 
secret,  but  the  article  was  quoted  in  almost  every  im- 
portant newspaper  in  the  world.  Another  "scoop"  was 
getting  the  first  news  of  the  Battle  of  Tsushima  Straits  in 
1905  a  week  in  advance  of  any  other  paper. 

Looking  back  over  the  years,  one  is  conscious  of  a 
continued  atmosphere  of  prosperity  in  all  that  concerns 
the  Daily  Telegraph.  The  paper  itself  conveys  the  im- 
pression. The  headquarters  in  Fleet  Street,  both  inside 
and  out,  are  essentially  affluent.  One  might  be  tempted  to 
think  that  nothing  could  be  more  natural,  that  the  paper 
just  appeals  to  a  prosperous  class,  and  that  ordinary  busi- 
ness sagacity  and  journalistic  foresight  and  skill  do  the 


The  "  Daily  Telegraph  "  45 

rest.  Yet  without  business  and  journalistic  genius  com- 
bined in  a  remarkable  degree  the  Daily  Telegraph  would 
not  exist  to-day.  Lord  Northcliffe  is  my  authority  for 
that.  Talking  with  me  about  journalism,  he  said,  re- 
ferring to  the  Daily  Telegraph,  "Did  Lord  Burnham  ever 
tell  you  of  the  time — a  good  many  years  ago — when  the 
total  value  of  advertisements  in  one  day's  issue  amounted 
only  to  7s.  6d.  ?    If  not,  ask  him  to  do  so."    I  intend  to. 


CHAPTER    VI 


THE   "daily  news  " 


If  I  had  been  asked  five  or  ten  years  ago  to  write  my 
impressions  of  the  Daily  News,  I  should  have  described  it 
as  a  paper  with  a  great  history,  extremely  influential, 
representing  the  views  of  a  solid  middle-class  public,  and 
strikingly  altruistic  and  philanthropic  in  its  aims.  I 
should  also  have  mentioned  the  reputation  of  its  foreign 
news,  the  weight  of  its  leading  articles,  and  the  excellence 
of  its  book  reviews. 

All  Fleet  Street  recognises  that  the  Daily  News  is  a 
paper  with  a  personality.  When  I  joined  the  board  at  the 
time  of  the  amalgamation  with  the  Morning  Leader  in 
May,  1912,  a  new  chapter  in  my  business  life  was  opened, 
and  I  "took  my  bearings"  for  the  future.  The  man  who 
works  his  way  up  from  the  bottom  of  the  ladder  has  his 
great  moments,  and  this  was  one  of  mine.  There  had 
been  another  when  I  was  promoted  to  the  head  of  my 
department  with  the  Morning  Leader,  and  I  well  recall  the 
thrill  the  news  gave  me,  and  how  I  walked  up  the  Street  of 
Ink  afterwards  as  if  treading  on  air,  with  my  head  up  and 
chest  out,  really  and  truly  fancying  that  everyone  I  passed 
was  looking  at  me  as  a  man  who  had  "arrived  "  !  I  had 
much  the  same  feeling  when  I  became  one  of  the  directors 
of  the  Daily  News  and  the  Star,  and  indeed  I  am  not 
ashamed  to  confess  that  the  sensation  of  being  proud  of 
the  position  is  still  with  me.  The  man  who  cannot  enjoy 
promotion  and  realise  its  possibilities  as  well  as  its 
responsibilities  will  never  cut  a  figure  in  the  world, 
although  he  should  beware  of  the  disease  known  as 
"swelled  head." 

46 


The  "  Daily  News  " 


47 


A  Paper  with  Traditions. — Not  long  after  the  amal- 
gamation I  was  talking  one  day  to  my  friend,  Sir  Hedley 
Le  Bas,  about  the  Daily  Neivs  and  its  characteristics.  He 
said  that  the  backbone  of  the  paper  consisted  of  readers 
to  whom  the  Daily  News  was  a  tradition.  It  was,  in  his 
judgment,  endowed  with  more  vitality  than  any  other 
medium  in  the  kingdom,  and,  according  to  him,  if  it  were 
printed  upside  down  or  side- 
ways or  in  some  other  freak 
fashion,  it  would  still  com- 
mand the  regular  support  of 
a  whole  army  of  its  old 
friends. 

When  I  came  into  the 
Street  of  Ink  Sir  John  Robin- 
son was  still  the  outstanding 
figure  on  the  Daily  News. 
After  his  time  the  paper  had 
some  ups  and  downs,  although 
it  never  lost  its  hold  upon  its 
readers.  E.  T.  Cook  sub- 
sequently became  editor,  and 
in  1902  the  chair  of  Charles 
Dickens  was  filled  by  A.  G. 
Gardiner,  who  still  occupies  it. 
Sir  E.  T.  Cook,  at  the  time 
of  writing,  occupies  the  re- 
sponsible position  of  head  of  the  Press  Bureau,  and  it 
is  a  tribute  to  his  judgment  and  skill  that  most  of  the  old 
complaints  which  were  levelled  against  the  bureau  at  the 
outset  rapidly  vanished. 

It  has  been  said  that  anything  of  the  nature  of  auto- 
biography must  be  indiscreet  if  it  is  to  be  really  interesting. 
I  will  risk  an  indiscretion  by  saying  that  the  amalgamation 
of  the  Daily  News  and  Morning  Leader  was  a  most  difficult 
problem.     We  hgd  to  graft  upon  the  decorous  Daily  News 


Charles  Dickens,   Founder  of 
the  "  Daily  News  "  (1846) 


48  The  Street  of  Ink 

what  I  may  term  the  exuberant  vitality  of  the  Morning 
Leader,  and  produce  a  paper  which,  in  the  words  of  our 
advertisements,  should  combine  "all  the  best  of  both." 
We  had  a  more  difficult  task  still  in  amalgamating  the 
two  staffs,  each  intensely  proud  of  the  achievements  of 
their  respective  papers,  and  perhaps  a  little  suspicious  of 
the  intentions  of  each  other  concerning  which  particular 
traditions  should  predominate.  Fortunately,  we  had  much 
in  common.  The  political  sympathies  of  the  two  sets  of 
men  were  equally  strong  in  the  same  direction,  and  formed 
a  common  bond.  As  far  as  the  Leader  men  were  con- 
cerned, they  would,  I  believe,  have  followed  Mr.  Parke 
(who  worked  untiringly  to  bring  the  amalgamation  to  a 
successful  issue)  to  the  Daily  Mail^  if  such  a  destiny  were 
thinkable.  However,  the  plan  adopted  worked  well,  and 
to-day  there  is  such  a  feeling  of  mutual  loyalty  and  regard 
that  we  share  a  common  tradition  whilst  working  for  a 
common  aim. 

Amalgamation  Difficulties. — There  were  many  great 
difficulties  to  be  surmounted.  The  office  in  Bouverie 
Street  was  originally  built  to  house  one  newspaper 
— a  staid  penny  daily — and  it  became  necessary  to 
make  some  considerable  alterations  to  cope  with  the 
development  inaugurated  by  the  new  combination  and  the 
Star.  Large  building  operations  that  could  not  be  seen 
from  Bouverie  Street,  which  alone  cost  ;^i7,ooo,  had  to 
be  undertaken.  The  northern  side  of  the  printing  works 
was  underpinned,  and  as  the  site  is  on  the  old  bank  of  the 
Thames,  a  huge  concrete  raft  was  sunk  between  20  and  30 
feet  below  the  street  level  on  the  shifting  river  gravel  to 
form  a  new  foundation.  The  bottom  floor  of  an  old  house 
below  the  present  office  was  entirely  cleared  away  to  make 
standing  room  for  the  Star  carts,  and  further  offices  were 
acquired  in  the  rambling  buildings  adjoining,  which  were 
connected  with  the  main  building  by  a  bridge.  The  quaint 
old  Victorian  building  in  Fleet  Street  was  cleared  of  the 


The  "Daily  News"  49 

tenants  occupying  the  rooms  above  the  advertisement 
offices,  and  was  refitted  for  myself  and  a  staff. 

It  was  a  wrench  to  leave  my  old  office  for  the  more 
magnificent  apartment  across  the  way,  and  I  paid  a  sad 
visit  of  farewell  to  the  building  in  Stonecutter  Street  with 
all  its  precious  memories.  I  spent  the  evening  before 
the  publication  of  the  first  amalgamated  number  in 
Bouverie  Street  with  my  wife  and  Mr.  Parke,  and  together 
we  watched  the  paper  being  put  to  bed.  Mr.  Parke  pre- 
dicted a  great  success  for  the  future,  and  he  was  right. 
Under  new  conditions  the  paper  settled  down  to  a  steady 
500,000  copies  daily.  The  subsequent  progress  showed 
an  increase  of  over  50  per  cent,  compared  with  that  figure. 

When  I  began  to  survey  my  new  conditions  I  found 
much  to  interest  me.  I  have  referred  to  the  vicissitudes 
of  the  Daily  News,  and  now  come  to  the  reawakening  of 
its  vitality.  Probably  the  greatest  undertaking  in  the 
history  of  the  paper  was  the  reduction  in  price  to  a  half- 
penny. It  would,  however,  be  difficult  to  exaggerate  the 
importance  of  establishing  the  duplicate  editorial  and 
printing  office  in  Manchester  in  order  to  compete  with  the 
Daily  Mail.  What  that  involved  may  be  gathered  from 
the  fact  that  no  other  London  daily  has  done  so,  if  one 
excepts  the  Daily  Mirror,  which  abandoned  the  venture  ! 

Changes  and  Developments. — More  remarkable  still, 
the  achievement  was  accomplished  mainly  by  two 
young  men  who  were  newcomers  to  the  Street  of  Ink. 
I  refer  to  my  colleagues,  H.  T.  Cadbury  and  B.  F. 
Crosfield.  The  former  came  to  Bouverie  Street  in 
March,  1907,  straight  from  farming  in  Worcestershire. 
He  was  appointed  director  of  the  company,  but  assumed 
no  executive  duties,  and  as  he  knew  no  one  when  he  arrived 
in  the  office,  he  had  to  pick  up  what  information  he  could 
where  he  could.  In  May  of  the  same  year  he  was  joined 
by  T.  G.  Curtis,  the  present  secretary  of  the  company,  who 
became  his  private  secretary,  and  in  September  by  his  old 

E 


50  The  Street  of  Ink 

college  friend,  B.  F.  Crosfield,  who  had  just  completed  his 
apprenticeship  in  a  large  engineering  works  and  thus 
qualified  indirectly  for  the  technical  supervision  of  a  big 
printing  establishment.  One  month  later  these  two  took 
over  the  management  of  the  paper,  and  Fleet  Street 
watched  many  changes  in  the  personnel  of  the  staff,  per- 
haps with  more  than  usual  interest,  as  the  incomers  were 
practically  unknown  outside  the  Daily  News  office. 

The  "Daily  News"  in  the  North. — The  northern 
offices  in  Manchester  were  opened  in  1909.  A  large  ware- 
house of  three  floors  was  acquired  and  turned  into  what  is 
generally  admitted  to  be  an  excellent  printing  office,  and 
thus  the  foundation  was  laid  for  the  developments  of  the 
past  few  years,  for  which  an  enormous  amount  of  credit 
is  due  to  these  two  men.  So  well  did  they  make  their 
plans  that  following  one  "rehearsal"  (during  which  pro- 
ceedings were  one  hour  late  all  through),  the  first  day's 
simultaneous  publication  in  the  North  went  through 
without  a  hitch.  Not  one  parcel  missed  its  proper  train, 
and  the  only  mishap  was  the  loss  of  a  small  "Clock  "  block 
for  the  northern  leader-page. 

The  northern  edition  is  not  merely  a  duplicate  of 
the  London  edition  printed  in  Manchester  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  ensuring  the  earliest  possible  delivery  of 
the  latest  news  in  the  Midlands,  the  North,  and  in  Ireland. 
It  contains  a  large  amount  of  news  of  local  interest  and 
importance,  the  business  columns  giving,  for  example, 
such  quotations  as  cotton  prices,  which  are  of  supreme 
interest  to  the  Manchester  district.  The  northern  edition, 
again,  is  subdivided  into  other  local  editions.  Thus,  the 
Liverpool  edition  contains  news  affecting  that  district 
which  is  not  found  in  the  Manchester  local  edition,  and 
vice  versa.  This  work  is  most  ably  controlled  by  G.  G. 
Armstrong,  the  northern  editor,  who  brings  a  ripe  experi- 
ence to  his  task.  He  had  been  for  a  long  time  on  the  staiT 
of  the  Morning  Leader,  and  subsequently  became  editor  of 


The  "  Daily  News  "  51 

the  Northern  Echo.  Before  that  he  had  served  as  reporter, 
sub-editor,  and  leader  writer  with  a  number  of  prominent 
provincial  dailies.  He  has  written  many  popular  books 
and  pamphlets. 

Continuation  of  Great  Traditions. — It  is  only 
right  to  say  at  this  point  how  much  the  Daily  News 
and  the  cause  of  democracy  owe  to  the  interest  and 
devotion  of  Mr.  George  Cadbury.  At  one  time  he  took  as 
active  a  part  in  the  guidance  of  its  fortunes  as  his  wide 
responsibilities  would  permit,  looking  upon  the  task  as  a 
duty,  and  regarding  the  paper  as  a  powerful  instrument  for 
alleviating  distress  and  injustice  which  might  otherwise 
crush  those  for  whose  sake  I  firmly  believe  he  would  cheer- 
fully impoverish  himself  were  it  necessary.  He  was  ably 
seconded  by  his  son,  Mr.  Edward  Cadbury,  the  present 
chairman  of  directors,  by  whose  business  sagacity  the  paper 
benefits  much.  No  paper  was  ever  served  with  such  un- 
selfish devotion,  nor,  is  it  too  much  to  say,  have  higher 
traditions  been  maintained  in  the  history  of  journalism. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  the  policy  of  the  Daily  News 
should  be  pursued  with  fearlessness  and  independence  and 
be  entirely  unaffected  by  material  consequences. 

There  is  a  good  story  told  of  an  Australian  politician 
who  had  the  reputation  of  being  the  plainest  man  in  the 
antipodes.  A  photographer  went  to  him  one  day  and 
said,  "May  I  take  your  photograph?  I  can  do  you 
justice."  "Justice  !  "  was  the  reply,  "I  don't  want  justice, 
I  want  mercy."  The  editor  of  the  Daily  News  asks  for 
no  mercy,  but  I  find  it  difficult  to  do  justice  to  him, 
particularly  as  many  writers  have  borne  testimony  to  his 
charm  of  personality,  to  his  passionate  Liberalism  (using 
that  word  in  its  broadest  sense),  to  his  independence,  and 
to  his  wide  sympathies.  His  Saturday  article  over 
the  initials  "A.  G.  G."  (A.  G.  Gardiner),  is  read 
by  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  every  week,  and 
should  they  cease  for  ^  week  or  two,  many  are  the  letters 


52  The  Street  of  Ink 

we  receive  asking  when  they  will  appear  again.  Some  of 
these  have  been  published  in  book  form  and  have  secured 
a  more  permanent  public  through  such  volumes  as  "Pillars 
of  Society  "  and  "  Prophets,  Priests  and  Kings." 

A.  G.  G.'s  Views. — I  asked  him  recently  what  he  con- 
sidered were  the  most  important  achievements  under 
his  editorship,  and  also  for  some  reminiscences  about 
the  men  who  have  served  with  him.  I  cannot  do 
better  than  give  some  of  his  impressions,  very  largely  in 
his  own  words. 

"Personally,"  he  says,  "I  think  that  the  thing  I  am 
proudest  about  is  the  part  which  we  took  in  regard  to 
Chinese  labour — our  opposition  to  that  and  the  effect  of  the 
correspondence  we  initiated  in  South  Africa  on  the  subject 
were,  I  think,  main  factors  in  bringing  the  thing  to  an  end 
and  saving  South  Africa  from  an  enormous  complication 
of  the  racial  trouble.  But  undoubtedly  we  paid  a  big 
price  for  taking  this  line. 

"No  less  satisfactory  in  retrospect  is,  I  think,  the  part 
we  were  able  to  take  in  securing  self-government  for  South 
Africa.  We  fought  that  battle  journalistically  almost 
single-handed  against  very  heavy  odds,  but,  with  the  ex- 
perience of  the  war  present  to  our  minds,  there  are  few  who 
will  not  agree  that  the  concession  of  self-government  to 
South  Africa  was  one  of  the  greatest  strokes  of  imperial 
business  in  history.  Without  it  South  Africa  would  in 
these  times  have  fallen  away  from  us  without  a  struggle. 
The  idea  of  liberty  has  never  had  a  more  triumphant 
justification.  Ever  since  the  Daily  News  was  established 
social  work  has  been  one  of  its  chief  interests  and  one 
of  its  greatest  claims  to  consideration,  and  during  the  past 
fifteen  years  it  has  preserved  this  tradition. 

"Much  the  most  thrilling  time  I  can  recall,  so  far  as 
the  internal  life  of  the  office  is  concerned,  was  the  week 
before  Christmas,  1905,  when  Canning  Town  was  reduced 
to  something  like  starvation  owing  to  the  depression  at 


The  "Daily  News"  53 

the  docks  and  the  fogs  which  made  labour  impossible.  I 
have  seen  many  extraordinary  outbursts  of  generosity  on 
the  part  of  our  readers,  but  nothing  like  the  exhibi- 
tion of  that  wonderful  week  when  the  whole  staff  spent 
its  Christmas  in  dealing  with  the  tornado  of  cheques 
and  postal  orders,  and  in  administering  the  fund  in  Can- 
ning Town.  Vaughan  Nash,  Masterman,  and  I  lived 
down  in  Canning  Town  during  the  critical  days. 

"In  the  course  of  a  fortnight  or  so  we  raised  ;i^  18,000 
in  money  and  goods ;  established  committees  in  every 
ward;  shoe  and  clothing  depots;  and  organised  work  for 
the  unemployed  through  the  Epping  Forest  Commis- 
sioners, the  Corporation,  the  West  Ham  Hospital,  and 
other  channels.  We  drained  part  of  Chingford  Plain, 
built  outdoor  baths,  decorated  the  West  Ham  Hospital, 
asphalted  playgrounds,  and  carried  out  many  other  public 
works  on  the  principle  that  the  relief  should  take  the  form 
of  labour  rather  than  gifts. 

Social  Work  of  the  "Daily  News." — "The  most 
important  social  experiment  made  was  the  famous  Sweated 
Industries  Exhibition  which  we  organised  and  held  at  the 
Queen's  Hall.  For  a  long  time  there  had  been  a  tendency 
to  deal  with  sweated  trades  generally  on  voluntary  and 
philanthropic  lines,  and  quite  ineffectually.  The  Queen's 
Hall  experiment  brought  the  whole  evil  out  into  the  day- 
light. The  exhibition,  which  was  opened  by  Princess 
Henry  of  Battenberg  and  the  Queen  of  Spain,  was  visited 
by  the  present  Queen,  then  Princess  of  Wales,  and  many 
members  of  the  Government.  It  created  a  profound  im- 
pression, and  the  immediate  effect  was  the  passing  of  the 
Minimum  Wage  Boards  Act  applying  to  sweated  in- 
dustries. No  Act  passed  since  1906  has  been  a  more 
complete  success." 

The  campaign  for  small  holdings  carried  on  in  the 
columns  of  the  Daily  News  by  C.  F.  G.  Masterman  (the 
loss  of  whose  graceful  pen,  even  if  it  is  only  temporary, 


54  The  Street  of  Ink 

leaves  Fleet  Street  the  poorer),  led  to  the  passing  of  the 
Small  Holdings  Act.  Masterman,  with  his  assistants, 
organised  and  carried  out  the  work  with  conspicuous 
ability.  I  believe  that  Masterman  created  a  record  in 
journalism  by  writing  a  leading  article  one  night  whilst 
still  on  the  staff  of  the  Daily  News  and  entering  the 
Cabinet  the  following  morning  when  it  appeared  in  print. 
I  do  not  think  that  even  Lord  Morley,  whose  association 
with  the  Pall  Mall  is  classical,  quite  equalled  this. 
"A.  G.G."  makes  a  very  interesting  point  when  he  says 
that  "probably  no  paper  has  undergone  so  great  an 
expansion  of  circulation  and  influence  in  the  last  fifteen 
years." 

"A  remarkable  thing,"  he  adds,  "has  been  the  loyalty 
of  the  Old  Guard.  Throughout  all  these  popular  develop- 
ments, no  paper,  I  suppose,  commands  quite  the  affection 
which  the  Daily  News  exercises  on  its  clientele.  It  is  that 
affection  which  accounts,  not  only  for  its  political  influence, 
but  also  for  the  extraordinary  generosity  in  response  to  any 
appeal  for  a  public  object." 

Readers  of  1870. — It  is  remarkable  how  frequently 
we  still  hear  from  people  whose  families  have  subscribed 
from  the  first  issue  in  1846,  or  who  themselves  have  sub- 
scribed since  1870.  It  was  the  war  in  1870  which  gave 
the  Daily  Neivs  its  enormous  impetus,  owing  to  the  bril- 
liant war  correspondence  of  Archibald  Forbes,  and  the 
letters  of  Henry  Labouchere  from  besieged  Paris.  The 
fund  which  the  Daily  News  raised  at  the  time  for  the  relief 
of  the  French  sufferers  by  the  war  was  one  of  the  earliest 
experiments  in  this  kind  of  journalistic  activity  and  created 
a  deep  impression  in  France.  It  is  worth  noticing  as  a 
parallel  that  it  is  again  in  war  time  that  the  Daily  News 
has  made  one  of  the  biggest  strides  in  its  history. 
"A.  G.  G."  sums  up  its  traditional  policy  and  the 
ability  of  its  writers  very  aptly:  "Historically,  the 
Daily    News    has    been    conspicuous    for    two    things — - 


The  "  Daily  News  '\  55 

its  attachment  to  social  policies  and  its  literary  interests. 
No  newspaper  has  in  the  last  seventy  years  had  more  dis- 
tinguished literary  men  on  its  staff,  and  its  record  in  the 
last  fifteen  years,  and  since  its  production  at  the  popular 
price,  has  not  been  inferior  to  that  of  the  past.  Among 
many  may  be  mentioned  the  names  of  a  few  of  the  leader 
writers  :  Herbert  Paul,  Vaughan  Nash — afterwards  private 
secretary  to  Sir  H.  Campbell-Bannerman  and  Mr. 
Asquith,  and  now  vice-chairman  of  the  Development 
Board — C.  F.  G.  Masterman,  J.  L.  Hammond,  the  author 
of  'The  Village  Labourer,'  and  others.  It  was  in  the 
Daily  News  that  G.  K.  Chesterton  first  came  into  general 
prominence,  and  in  its  columns  that  John  Masefield  did 
his  first  journalistic  work  as  reviewer.  Hilaire  Belloc,  too, 
did  his  first  work  as  a  military  expert  by  writing  the  mili- 
tary criticisms  of  the  war  in  South  Africa  in  the  Daily 
News." 

I  might  add  that  an  achievement  of  which  any  paper 
might  be  proud  was  the  remarkable  Church  Census  which 
was  carried  out  in  London,  and  became  the  basis  of  a 
great  deal  of  valuable  data  for  subsequent  social  work. 

Members  of  the  Staff. — When  I  became  associated 
with  the  Daily  News  I  immediately  formed  the  opinion 
that  "A.  G.  G."  and  H.  W.  Smith,  the  present  night 
editor,  knew  the  pulse  of  the  readers  of  the  paper  to  per- 
fection. To  maintain  this  knowledge  in  view  of  the  vast 
increase  in  the  number  of  regular  buyers  has  not  been 
easy,  and  its  successful  accomplishment  testifies  to  the 
journalistic  ability  of  themselves  and  their  colleagues  from 
the  Morning  Leader,  among  whom  must  be  prominently 
mentioned  J.  S.  Hodgson,  the  assistant  editor,  and  a  cap- 
able writer;  F.  J.  Hillier,  news  editor,  whose  work  is  so 
well  known  in  the  Street  of  Ink;  H.  Cozens-Hardy,  his 
able  assistant;  and  Harold  Warren,  who  was  also  a  col- 
league of  mine  on  the  Morning  Leader.  Hillier  is  one  of 
the  best-known  journalists  in  London.      The  Newspaper 


56  The  Street  of  Ink 

Press  Fund  and  Llie  Institute  of  Journalists  owe  much  to 
his  unselfish  labours  and  to  his  businesslike  aptitude  for 
practical  affairs.  His  achievements  are  not  so  well 
known  as  his  ability,  for  he  does  not  work  in  the  limelight. 
Previously  to  becoming  night  editor  of  the  Morning 
Leader  he  was  for  a  time  sub-editor  of  the  Paris  edition  of 
the  New  York  Herald,  and  the  war  to  an  extent  caused  him 
to  renew  his  old  association  with  the  French  capital.  His 
proudest  recollection  of  France  in  the  future,  however,  will 
be  that  his  son  won  the  Military  Cross  there.  If  they  gave 
one  in  journalism  F.  J.  Hillier  would  have  had  it  long  ago. 
Cozens-Hardy  has  a  wide  knowledge  of  American  affairs, 
and  in  1916  made  a  special  visit  to  the  United  States  to 
cover  the  Presidential  election  for  the  Daily  News. 

The  literary  editorship  is  in  the  competent  hands  of 
Robert  Lynd,  assisted  by  many  brilliant  reviewers;  the 
City  office  is  in  charge  of  R.  Benham,  who  came  from 
the  Standard  with  a  big  reputation  which  he  has  well 
maintained.  Nor  should  I  omit  to  mention  W.  A.  Ebbutt, 
who  for  many  years  previously  was  with  the  Morning 
Leader.  I  may  describe  the  latter  as  the  soldiers'  Father 
Christmas,  because  he  took  charge  of  the  Daily  News 
Christmas  Pudding  Fund,  which  provided  the  Army's 
puddings  in  1914  and  1915,  and  in  conjunction  with  the 
Daily  Telegraph  raised  the  gigantic  sum  of  over  ;^75,ooo 
for  the  same  purpose  in  1916. 

The  Parliamentary  Staff. — I  must  also  refer  to  the 
brilliant  Parliamentary  staff.  At  a  general  election  which 
will  still  be  fresh  within  the  recollection  of  my  readers, 
P.  W.  Wilson  ("P.  W.  W."),  the  writer  of  the  Parlia- 
mentary sketches,  C.  F.  G.  Masterman,  the  literary  editor, 
and  L.  (now  Sir  Leo)  Chiozza  Money,  all  gained  seats  in 
the  House  of  Commons.  Later  they  were  joined  by 
Spencer  Leigh  Hughes,  the  genial  "Sub  Rosa,"  who  for 
many  years  delighted  thousands  every  day  with  his  in- 
imitable comments,  all  of  which  were  characterised  by  a 


The  "  Daily  News  "  57 

humorous  outlook  that  never  fails  Hughes  either  as  a  writer 
or  as  a  speaker.  This,  I  think,  creates  something  of  a 
record  amongst  "ink  wallowers."  A  mild  sensation  was 
caused  later  still  when  that  excellent  journalist,  A.  P. 
Nicholson,  resigned  his  position  as  Lobbyist  of  The  Times 
to  take  a  similar  position  with  the  Daily  News. 

Other  Names. — I  should  like  to  mention  many  en- 
gaged in  the  Fleet  Street  office,  but  a  few  must  suffice.  My 
own  chief  personal  assistants  are  Keith  J.  Thomas  and  L. 
Haigh  Hellyer.  The  best  tribute  I  can  pay  them,  and 
the  one  they  would  most  like  me  to  pay,  is  to  say 
that  no  man  ever  had  two  more  loyal  assistants  or  col- 
leagues who  could  take  more  pleasure  in  helping  him  to 
make  his  work  successful — a  sentiment,  I  should  add, 
which  is  very  fully  reciprocated.  They  have  come  through 
the  very  anxious  times  caused  by  the  war  with  flying 
colours  and  have  proved  equal  to  all  the  demands  made 
upon  them.  D.  E.  Crome,  who  has  been  with  the  Daily 
News  for  nearly  fifty  years,  and  who,  I  am  happy  to  say,  is 
like  Johnnie  Walker,  "still  going  strong,"  is  another 
member  of  my  staff,  with  whom  I  couple  B.  Pennett, 
at  one  time  the  editor  of  a  well-known  weekly  paper. 
B.  C.  Taylor,  who  came  to  me  as  quite  a  small  boy  many 
years  ago,  is  now  my  secretary. 

H.  Murch  is  a  valued  member  of  the  staff  who,  to  my 
mind,  can  well  stand  as  a  fine  type  of  a  head  printer  of  a 
great  London  daily.  His  tactful  handling  of  his  depart- 
ment has  created  mutual  esteem  between  himself  and  his 
staff. 

Lately  I  completed  twenty-one  years  of  unbroken 
service  with  my  papers.  Although  young  in  years,  I  feel 
in  one  respect  very  much  like  an  old  man  in  a  picturesque 
village  in  Devonshire.  Seeing  a  friend  of  mine  with  a 
camera,  he  said,  "Would  you  like  to  take  me?  I'm  the 
oldest  inhabitant.  Most  of  'em  takes  me,  and  they  gene- 
rally gives  me  a  trifle."     All  of  us  with  the  Daily  News, 


58  The  Street  of  ^Ink 

I  think,  like  to  give  each  other  a  trifle  when  we  can 
co-operate  and  help  each  other  in  maintaining  the  success 
of  a  paper  which  has  continued  unbroken  the  policy  laid 
down  by  Charles  Dickens  when  making  his  plans  for 
starting   the    Daily  News.       As    the   extract    reproduced 


Facsimile  of  extract  from   a  letter  written  by   Charles  Dickens,   1846. 

from  his  own  handwriting  shows,  the  aims  of  the  paper 
to-day  are  the  same  as  they  were  in  1846. 

The  incompleteness  of  this  sketch  would  be  glaring 
if  I  did  not  include  a  reference  to  my  colleagues  on  the 
Board,  the  men  under  whose  direction  the  paper  has 
grown  from  a  circulation  of  30,000  a  day  to  over  800,000. 
They  have  achieved  a  rare  success,  and  of  a  combination 
which  has  accomplished  so  much  it  may  be  permitted  to 
hope  that  much  more  may  be  expected. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE    "  DAILY    MAIL  "    AND   THE    "  EVENING   NEWS  " 

THE    "DAILY   MAIL" 

It  will  probably  surprise  most  of  my  readers  to  learn 
that  the  Daily  Mail  started  with  a  capital  of  only  ;^  15,000  ! 
Lord  Northcliffe  explains  the  smallness  of  the  amount  by 
pointing  out  that  it  had  at  its  disposal  the  printing 
machines  of  the  Evening  News  and  the  very  valuable 
backing  of  the  advertising  freely  accorded  by  the  publica- 
tions of  what  has  now  become  the  Amalgamated  Press. 
The  fact,  however,  remains  that  the  capital  was  only 
;^i5,ooo  and  the  whole  of  it  was  never  required. 

I  well  remember  seeing  the  yellow  bills  with  their  blue 
lettering  advertising  the  coming  of  the  Daily  Mail.  The 
day  when  I  first  saw  them  was  a  very  hot  and  oppressive 
one,  and  I  myself  was  feeling  particularly  wretched — not, 
as  I  told  Lord  Northcliffe,  because  of  the  Daily  Mail, 
but  because  I  had  had  a  tooth  drawn. 

The  Early  Organisation. — Lord  Northcliffe  told  me 
that  there  was  no  real  editor  of  the  Daily  Mail  at  the  start. 
Every  one  of  the  little  group  took  turns,  and  the  present 
organisation  with  its  daily  editorial  and  business  con- 
ferences grew  slowly  and  automatically.  From  the  first 
he  himself  controlled  the  paper  day  and  night  through  his 
system  of  private  telephone  lines.  The  present  editor, 
Thomas  Marlowe,  who  has  produced  some  thousands  of 
Daily  Mails,  attracted  Lord  Northcliffe's  attention  by  some 
particularly  vivid  reporting  work  on  the  Evening  News. 
He  left  the  Evening  News,  which,  from  the  outset,  had 
always  been  conducted  as  an  entirely  separate  newspaper, 

59 


6o  The  Street  of  Ink 

and  joined  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Daily  Mail.  It  was 
not  long  before  his  initiative  and  quick  decision  made  him 
the  first  regular  editor  of  that  journal. 

At  the  start  Lord  Northcliffe's  brothers,  Leicester, 
Hildebrand,  Cecil,  and  Vyvyan  Harmsworth,  were  associ- 
ated with  the  paper.  Two  of  them,  who  inclined  more 
and  more  towards  Liberalism  in  politics,  subsequently 
obtained  seats  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Their  interests, 
together  with  Lord  Rothermere's,  passed  into  other 
hands,  but  Lord  Northcliffe  retained  the  absolute  control 
which  he  possesses  in  all  the  undertakings  in  which  he  is 
concerned.  He  expressed  the  opinion  to  me  that  more 
newspapers  are  killed  by  internal  friction  than  by  external 
competition. 

The  Management  of  the  "Daily  Mail." — When  Lord 
Rothermere  left  the  Daily  Mail,  Lord  Northcliffe  (to  use 
his  own  words)  "put  the  management  into  commission." 
His  business  advisers  among  the  directors,  particularly  on 
the  commercial  side,  are  W.  J.  Evans,  long  the  editor  of 
the  Evening  News,  to  whom  he  gives  the  credit  for  much 
of  that  paper's  continued  success;  my  good  friend, 
Pomeroy  Burton,  who  was  trained  in  America  by  Joseph 
Pulitzer,  and  soon  created  a  host  of  friends  in  the  Street 
of  Ink  when  he  came  to  England;  Andrew  Caird,  who 
possesses  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  technique  of  news- 
paper production ;  and  Wareham  Smith,  who  is  always  to 
the  fore  in  any  movement  for  the  development  of  publicity, 
and  was  responsible  for  founding  that  progressive  and 
popular  institution,  the  Aldwych  Club. 

The  control  of  the  paper  is  in  the  hands  of  the 
directors,  of  whom  the  chairman  is  Lord  Northcliffe,  who 
told  me  that  in  his  absence  Thomas  Marlowe,  the  vice- 
chairman,  and  G.  A.  Sutton,  the  chairman  of  the  Amalga- 
mated Press,  who  are  also  directors,  hold  his  complete 
power  of  attorney  over  the  whole  establishment,  literary 
and   commercial.      The   remaining   directors  are   H.   W. 


The  "Daily  Mail"  6i 

Wilson,  the  principal  leader  writer,  who  is  a  contributor 
to  the  Cambridge  Histories,  and  author  of  the  standard 
Avork  "Ironclads  in  Action";  C.  I.  Beattie,  who  is  the 
assistant  editor  of  the  Daily  Mail;  and  C.  Duguid,  who 
has  control  of  the  financial  columns,  and  is  a  journalist 
with  a  long  and  notable  career  in  the  City  offices  of  leading 
newspapers. 

Lord  Northcliffe  considers  that  the  two  principal 
achievements  in  the  history  of  the  Daily  Mail  were  the 
successful  establishment  of  the  Manchester  edition  and  the 
foundation  of  the  Continental  edition.  The  Manchester 
edition  was  started  during  the  Boer  War,  when  printing 
presses  were  run  to  Manchester  and  installed  in  a  school- 
room. The  experiment,  which  was  regarded  with  amuse- 
ment by  some  of  its  Northern  competitors,  was  quickly 
followed  by  the  Daily  News,  which  acquired  a  warehouse 
and  turned  it  into  a  Northern  office,  as  I  have  already  re- 
lated. In  each  case  success  followed  immediately. 
Lord  Northcliffe  tells  me  that  whilst  it  was  thought  that 
the  war  would  injure  the  Continental  Daily  Mail,  this 
has  not  proved  to  be  the  case,  as  sales  which  were  lost  in 
Germany  and  Austria  have  been  well  made  up  by  the 
increased  circulation  in  Spain,  Portugal,  Italy,  Switzer- 
land, and  in  those  parts  of  the  British  military  zone 
not  easily  accessible  from  London.  The  circulation  of 
the  Paris  editions  exceeds  one  hundred  thousand  copies 
daily. 

The  Daily  Mail  was  born  in  an  atmosphere  of  strenu- 
ousness  which  still  characterises  it.  There  is  a  persistent 
restlessness  about  the  paper  which  one  attributes  to  the 
inborn  terror  of  stagnation  which  is  typical  of  Lord  North- 
cliffe, and  reveals  itself  in  all  his  personal  reminiscences. 
This  restlessness  strikes  the  visitor  to  Carmelite  House  as 
being  characteristic  of  the  work  carried  on  there,  but  only 
an  experienced  newspaper  man  can  form  the  slightest  idea 
of  the  activity  that  must  prevail  in  the  many  departments 


62  The  Street  of  Ink 

and  amongst  the  hundreds  of  workers  who  have  all  done 
their  share  to  produce  a  paper  which  has  reached  the 
immense  sale  of  the  Daily  Mail. 

THE   "EVENING  NEWS" 

"K.  J.'s  "  Romantic  Career. — Mr.  Kennedy  Jones,  of 
course,  played  a  great  part  in  establishing  the  Daily 
Mail,  but  his  "monument"  in  Carmelite  House  is  the 
Evening  News.  The  story  of  his  career  is  one  of  the 
romances  of  the  Street  of  Ink.  He  began  his  journal- 
istic career  at  the  mature  age  of  sixteen  by  contributing  a 
series  of  articles  on  "City  Life  "  to  a  Glasgow  paper  called 
Scottish  Nights.  For  these  he  received  los.  per  article, 
which  worked  out  at  about  6d.  per  loo  words,  and  felt 
very  rich  in  consequence. 

The  printers  of  the  paper  recommended  him  to  the  pro- 
prietors of  another  paper,  the  Mercantile  Age,  and  before 
he  was  seventeen  he  was  one  of  its  sub-editors.  When  a 
dock  strike  disturbed  the  serenity  of  his  native  city,  Glas- 
gow, he  sent  several  articles  on  the  subject  to  the  Glasgow 
Evening  News.  They  were  not  only  accepted,  but  led  to 
an  appointment  as  sub-editor  on  that  paper.  A  year  later 
he  became  assistant  editor  of  the  Leicester  Free  Press, 
where  he  remained  for  another  year,  and  then  took  a 
similar  position  with  the  Birmingham  Daily  Mail.  Having 
arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-six,  he  apparently  thought  he 
ought  to  be  making  more  money,  so  he  applied  for  an 
increase  of  los.  per  week  in  his  salary.  This  being  re- 
fused, he  resigned  and  went  to  London,  where,  he 
declares,  he  arrived  "without  a  bob  or  a  job."  "I  came 
to  London,"  he  said  to  me,  "because  if  a  journalist 
quarrels  with  his  proprietor  in  the  provinces,  he  quarrels 
with  the  whole  town.  In  London,  if  he  knows  his  busi- 
ness, he  can  go  across  the  street  and  get  another  job." 
In  1892  he  helped  to  found  the  Morning,  which  came  out 
two   days   before   the   Morning   Leader,   but  died   in    its 


The  "Evening  News"  63 

infancy.  "T.  P."  was  then  starting  the  Sun,  and  "K.  J.*' 
— who  had  already  formed  the  opinion  that  the  time  was 
ripe  for  more  evening  papers  giving  short  pithy  news 
paragraphs  in  preference  to  lengthy  cables  and  in- 
terminable articles  about  such  things  as  the  death  of  a 
King  of  Fiji  (in  whom  nobody  took  the  slightest  interest) 
— went  to  him  and  asked  if  he  wanted  an  energetic  and 
pushful  young  man.  "T.  P."  did,  and  "K.  J."  re- 
ceived an  appointment  at  ^y  per  week.  It  was  through 
the  Sun  that  he  got  his  first  real  chance  in  life,  and 
this  is  how  it  happened.  One  day  the  publisher  of 
the  paper  came  to  him  and  said  that  he  had  received  a 
notice  to  attend  a  general  meeting  of  the  company  owning 
the  Evening  News,  in  which  he  held  a  few  shares.  He 
doubted  the  wisdom  of  going  and  proclaiming  to  all 
and  sundry  the  fact  that  he  was  interested  in  another 
paper.  "K.  J."  told  him  it  was  his  clear  duty  to 
watch  what  they  proposed  to  do  with  his  property, 
and  eventually  he  went.  He  reported  the  fact  that  as  the 
Evening  News  was  in  financial  difficulties  and  owed  about 
;^2 1,000,  the  majority  wished  to  sell  the  property.  The 
proprietors  of  the  Globe  made  an  unsuccessful  bid  of 
;^ 1 7, 000  for  the  assets  and  goodwill,  and  thereupon  "K.  J." 
went  to  "T.  P."  to  recommend  that  the  Sun  should  take 
over  the  paper.  He  pointed  out  that  his  own  paper  had 
nearly  reached  the  paying  point,  but  was  handicapped  by 
the  cost  of  distribution,  and  said  he  thought  he  could  buy 
the  Evening  News,  which  w'ould  enable  the  two  organisa- 
tions to  be  amalgamated,  in  which  case  the  efficient  dis- 
tribution system  of  that  paper  would  enable  the  Sun  to 
turn  the  corner. 

Part  Proprietor  of  the  "Evening  News." — The 
story  is  too  long  to  tell  in  detail.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
"T.  P."  was  not  a  buyer,  and  as  the  offices  of  the  Sun 
were  opposite  the  building  where  Answers  was  produced, 
"K.  J."  got  an  idea  that  young  Mr.  Alfred  Harmsworth 


64  The  Street  of  Ink 

might  be  the  man  for  the  deal.  He  went  and  asked  him 
if  he  would  like  to  buy  the  Evening  News,  lock,  stock 
and  barrel,  for  ;^25,ooo,  and  in  that  way  Lord  Northcliffe 
and  Lord  Rothermere  came  to  "adventure"  that  sum,  and 
"K.  J."  became  co-proprietor  with  them.  The  first  week's 
profit  under  the  new  management  was  ;£'j.  At  the  end  of 
the  first  twelve  months  it  was  ;^' 14,000. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Alfred  Harmsworth  became  pro- 
prietor of  the  Southern  Daily  Mail  at  Portsmouth. 
People's  memories  are  so  short  that  it  will  be  news  to  many 
to  learn  that  when  I,  as  a  youngster,  first  saw  him  he 
was  a  very  young  man  contesting  the  Portsmouth  con- 
stituency, the  Liberal  candidates  (who  were  successful) 
being  Mr.  Baker  and  Mr.  Clough.  Mr.  Harmsworth  con- 
ducted his  campaign  with  characteristic  dash,  and  I  can 
visualise  him  quite  clearly  now  driving  with  Mr.  Evelyn 
Ashley  in  a  carriage  behind  a  fine  pair  of  high-stepping 
horses,  which  commanded  attention  wherever  they 
appeared,  as  they  were  obviously  intended  to  do.  It  is 
interesting  to  speculate  what  might  have  happened  if  he  had 
been  successful  and  had  found  the  active  pursuit  of  politics 
all-engrossing. 

"K.  J."  edited  the  Southern  Daily  Mail  for  a  time,  and 
was  succeeded  by  W.  J.  Evans.  "K.  J."  confessed  to  me 
that  when  the  Daily  Mail  was  planned  it  was  he  who 
suggested  the  title.  Thus  Mr.  Harmsworth  controlled  a 
Daily  Mail  for  the  second  time,  and  "K.  J."  became  asso- 
ciated with  a  Daily  Mail  for  the  third  time.  Now  that  he 
has  become  a  Member  of  Parliament  I  shall  watch  his 
further  career  with  pleasure. 

My  own  impressions  of  "K.J."  are  summed  up  by  say- 
ing that  he  is  first  and  foremost  a  man  of  business,  uniting 
a  keen  imagination  with  Scots  caution,  essentially  prac- 
tical and  of  tremendous  energy.  Superficially  he  is  as 
hard  as  granite,  but,  although  he  would  be  the  last  to 
admit  it,  possesses  a  very  real  sympathy  with  those  who 


IV 


The  "  Evening  News  " 


65 


have  dropped  on  the  way  in  the  battle  of  business,  of  which 
he  himself  has  experienced  all  the  hardships. 

A  Very  Promising  Young  Man. — His  chief  hobby, 
he  told  me,  was  to  pull  the  strings  in  connection  with  many 
activities,  and  whilst  himself  remaining  in  the  background 
to  watch  the  results  obtained  from  afar.  I  replied,  "Then 
you  must  be  '  the  unseen  hand  '  that  everyone  talks  about." 
He  smiled  knowingly.  His  own  view  of  his  record  was 
summed  up  in  a  characteristic  reply  to  a  wire  which  I  sent 
him  congratulating  him  on  his 
fiftieth  birthday,  when  he  merely 
said:  "Manv  thanks  kind  con- 
gratulations.  So  little  done,  so 
much  to  do."  If  he  proposes  to 
progress  in  the  same  ratio,  he  is 
indeed  a  young  man  full  of 
promise. 

The  excellent  photograph  of 
him,  which  will  be  found  else- 
where, bears  an  inscription  that 
is  characteristic  of  him.  It  reads, 
"Yours,  my  dear  Simonis,  till 
Hell  freezes'.— '  K.  J.'"  It  is 
written  aptly  enough  in  red  pencil 
which  shows  up  like  subterranean 
fire  against  the  black  tones  of  the 
photo.  I  am  glad  that  our  friendship  is  likely  to  last  so 
long  ! 

"K.  J.,"  by  the  way,  holds  the  opinion  tli^t  the  real 
founder  of  the  halfpenny  Press  was  the  late  Mr.  Joseph 
Pulitzer,  and  that  we  therefore  owe  popular  journalism  to 
the  United  States.  The  idea  at  the  back  of  it  has  always 
been,  he  says,  to  provide  a  penny  paper  for  a  halfpenny, 
and  not  to  sell  a  halfpenny  paper  for  a  halfpennv.  Lord 
Northcliffe,  however,  assigns  the  credit  to  M.  Marinoni, 
who,  he  considers,  antedated  IMr.  Pulitzer  by  many  years. 

F 


A   Bright  Bill   signifying 
"  Nothing  Official  " 


66  The  Street  of  Ink 

The  "Evening  News"  Staff.— Next  to  "K.  J."  the 
man  who  has  been  most  prominently  associated  with  the 
Evening  News  is  W.  J.  Evans,  who  left  the  Star  and 
joined  Lord  Northcliffe  in  October,  1894.  He  became 
editor  in  1896,  and  has  occupied  the  position  ever  since, 
ahhough  latterly,  in  view  of  his  other  responsibilities  after 
"K.  J.'s"  retirement,  the  active  work  of  editorship  has 
devolved  upon  Alfred  Turner,  w^ho  gave  up  the  editorship 
of  the  Yorkshire  Evening  Post  to  become  his  assistant. 
Evans  is  a  most  enterprising  journalist,  and  a  good  deal 
more  far-seeing  than  most.  He  has  given  plenty  of 
evidence  of  his  ability.    Turner,  too,  is  a  writer  of  repute. 

Probably  the  best  known  members  of  the  staff  are 
Claude  Burton,  whose  daily  verses,  written  over  the  initials 
"C.  E.  B.,"  have  been  a  feature  of  the  paper  for  some- 
thing like  twenty  years;  Arthur  Machen,  whose  literary 
gifts  have  enriched  journalism;  and  Oswald  Barran,  "The 
Londoner."  The  last-named  is  one  of  the  leading  lights 
of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  w'ho  possesses  an  unrivalled 
knowledge  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  and 
is  an  authority  on  heraldry.  Another  well-known  member 
of  the  staff  is  the  sporting  editor,  J.  M.  Dick. 

The  Evening  News  has  a  well-deserved  reputation  for 
enterprise.  Enterprise  turned  it  into  a  paying  property. 
The  biggest  event  in  the  history  of  the  paper  was  probably 
the  celebration  of  the  one-thousandth  number,  when 
London  was  doubly  electrified  by  means  of  the  pow^erful 
searchlights  which  were  focused  upon  the  Evening  News 
flags  at  night. 

The  Evening  News,  like  the  Star,  makes  a  feature  of  its 
bills.  One  that  I  consider  the  cleverest  is  reproduced  on 
page  65.  Officially,  neither  of  us  loses  a  chance  to  score  off 
the  other.  I  hope  I  shall  not  be  accused  of  exercising  my 
author's  licence  too  much  if  I  record  a  score  that  I  am 
rather  proud  of.  The  Evening  News  some  time  ago  pub- 
lished a  neat  advertisement  which  read,  "All  the  News  in 


The  "Evening  News"  67 

The  Evening  Neivs."  We  replied  with,  "All  the  Evening 
News  in  the  Star."  I  have  no  doubt  that  my  friends  in 
Carmelite  House  appreciated  the  turning  of  the  tables,  just 
as  we  would  have  acknowledged  the  thrust  if  the  positions 
had  been  reversed.  In  a  nutshell,  the  Evening  News  is  a 
well-published,  up-to-date  evening  newspaper,  a  state  of 
affairs  for  which  W.  J.  Evans  and  his  colleagues  are 
responsible. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

THE    "daily   chronicle"   AND   "LLOYD's    WEEKLY   NEWS 


"Once  upon  a  time"  a  young  man  who  started  life  in 
Edinburgh,  and  aftei-wards  went  to  Northampton,  re- 
solved to  try  his  luck  in  London,  and  had  come  up  to 
the  Metropolis  for  the  purpose.  It  was  his  second  visit, 
and  he  found  himself  in  the  Street  of  Ink,  to  which 
he  had  gravitated,  possibly  owing  to  the  fact  that  he 
knew  two  of  its  inhabitants.  These  were  Archibald 
Forbes,  of  the  Daily  Neivs,  and  a  journalist  named 
Nankivell,  who  was  editor  of  a  small  monthly,  the 
Reporter's  Magazine,  to  which  the  young  man  had 
contributed.  (In  passing  I  may  as  well  mention  that 
the  name  of  the  hero  of  this  story  is  Robert  Donald.) 
By  a  fortuitous  accident  he  saw  an  enormous  crowd 
round  a  paper  boy  who  was  selling  papers  as  fast  as 
he  could  hand  them  out,  and,  stranger  still,  found  him- 
self standing  next  to  Nankivell,  of  whom  he  inquired  the 
meaning  of  this  rush.  Nankivell  explained  that  it  was 
due  to  the  bill  which  the  street-seller  Avas  exhibiting, 
advertising  one  of  W.  T.  Stead's  "Modern  Babylon" 
articles  in  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette.  He  explained  that  the 
paper  was  "selling  like  hot  cakes,"  and  although  the  staff 
were  working  at  high  pressure,  they  could  not  cope  with 
their  work.  The  sight  of  the  crowd  and  the  wonderful 
sales  of  the  paper  seemed  at  once  to  have  indicated  to 
young  Donald  that  the  Street  of  Ink  was  the  place  for 
him.  Anyhow,  he  suggested  to  his  friend  that,  things 
being  as  they  were,  they  could  find  a  job  for  him,  to 
which   Nankivell   replied:    "Why  don't   you  go  and  see 

68 


The  "  Daily  Chronicle  "  69 

Henry  Leslie  ? "  Leslie,  who  was  manager  of  the  Pall 
Mall  Gazette  in  those  days,  told  him  that  the  only  job 
he  had  consisted  of  addressing  wrappers  at  £i  per 
week,  which  was  accepted.  There  was  the  usual 
motley  crowd  engaged  on  this  work,  and  the  ambitious 
young  man  from  Northampton  disliked  his  surround- 
ings so  much  that  after  two  or  three  days  he  went 
to  Leslie  and  said  the  work  didn't  suit  him,  as  he 
was  capable  of  doing  something  better.  It  happened 
that  Leslie  wanted  assistance  with  his  correspondence, 
and  young  Donald  was  translated  to  the  manager's  office 
with  an  increase  in  salary  of  5s.  per  week.  At  this  point 
his  opportunities  may  be  said  to  have  begun,  and  he 
lost  no  time  in  looking  for  them.  He  now  had  the  run 
of  the  building,  and  before  long  was  on  good  terms 
with  many  of  the  sub-editors. 

An  Opportunity  Seized. — Like  myself,  he  had  taught 
himself  shorthand  (many  years  before),  and  his  promo- 
tion only  served  to  increase  his  desire  to  improve  his 
position.  One  day  Leslie  went  away  for  a  brief  holi- 
day, and  during  his  absence  Donald  learned  from  some 
of  his  reporter  friends  that  their  staff  was  very  much 
undermanned.  He  offered  his  assistance  and  it  was 
accepted.  In  due  course  Leslie  returned,  and  one  can 
picture  his  astonishment  when  the  young  man  told  him 
that  his  services  were  no  longer  available  as  he  was  now 
reporting.  A  reporter  he  remained  and  was  given  general 
work  to  do. 

The  editorial  staff  in  those  days  included  Lord  Milner, 
Sir  Edward  Cook,  and  Sir  Henry  Norman.  The  last- 
named  afterwards  became  assistant-editor  of  the  Chronicle 
before  devoting  his  whole  time  to  Parliamentary  work 
and  becoming  Assistant  Postmaster-General.  He  now 
occupies  a  high  Government  position  in  connection  with 
the  war. 

From   the   Pall   Mall,    Robert   Donald   went  to  assist 


70  The  Street  of  Ink 

at  the  birth  of  the  Star,  and  we  find  him  settling  down 
to  writing  general  descriptive  and  special  articles,  in- 
cluding "specials"  on  London  Municipal  Government. 
Later  he  wrote  leaders,  and  when  "T.  P."  retired  and 
was  succeeded  by  H.  W.  Massingham,  he  acted  as 
assistant  editor. 

While  with  the  Star  he  founded  London,  which 
paper  was  to  prove  the  real  stepping-stone  from  which 
he  climbed  to  his  present  position.  London  dealt 
with  London  municipal  affairs.  Afterwards  he  enlarged 
its  scope  by  making  it  the  Municipal  Journal,  and 
thus  produced  an  organ  of  the  municipalities  through- 
out the  kingdom.  After  leaving  the  Star  he  was  a 
regular  contributor  to  the  Daily  Chronicle,  chiefly  on 
London  affairs ;  and  later,  when  changes  were  made  on 
the  staff  of  that  paper,  he  became  new^s  editor.  He  held 
that  position  for  some  time,  and  left  to  take  charge  of  the 
publicity  department  of  the  Gordon  Hotels  in  combination 
with  newspaper  work.  His  journalistic  experience  included 
about  a  year  which  he  spent  in  Paris  as  a  free-lance 
correspondent,  contributing  chiefly  to  the  Pall  Mall 
Gazette,  and  interviewing  the  leading  French  people  of 
the  time,  including  Renan,  Eiffel,  who  was  then  build- 
ing the  famous  Towner,  De  Lesseps,  who  was  absorbed 
in  the  Panama  Canal,  Boulanger,  who  was  coming  to 
the  front  as  the  French  Minister  of  War,  Rochefort, 
Louise  Michel,  the  anarchist,  and  others.  He  also  spent 
a  year  in  America,  studying  American  politics  and  con- 
tributing to  the  American  Press  as  well  as  several  London 
newspapers.  When  he  became  managing  director  of  the 
United  Newspapers,  Ltd.,  and  controlled  the  publications 
of  that  company,  including  Lloyd's  News  and  the  Daily 
Chronicle,  he  found  his  knowledge  of  "both  sides  of  the 
fence  "  invaluable. 

Origin  of  the  "Daily  Chronicle."— Under  his  con- 
trol both  these  important  papers  have  more  than  main- 


The  "Daily  Chronicle"  7i 

tained  their  reputations.  The  Daily  Chronicle  was  a 
penny  daily  when  j\Ir.  Donald  took  charge  of  its 
destinies.  Three  months  afterwards  he  had  transformed 
it  into  a  halfpenny  daily,  and  the  change  practically 
coincided  with  the  reduction  in  the  price  of  the  Daily 
News.  It  was  the  second  great  change  made  in  the 
paper,  the  first  being  the  transformation  from  the 
Clerkenwell  News,  which  was  a  local  London  paper, 
into  the  Daily  Chronicle,  which  one  would  describe  as 
a  London  local  paper.  The  late  Mr.  Edward  Lloyd, 
an  exceedingly  shrewd  business  man,  formed  the  opinion 
that  to  acquire  the  Clerkenwell  paper  and  enlarge  its 
appeal  would  form  an  admirable  basis  for  building  up  a 
splendid  property. 

A  Famous  Achievement. — The  Daily  Chronicle  has 
been  well  served  by  a  host  of  brilliant  journalists.     Mr. 

A.  E.  Fletcher  was  the  first  editor  to  leave  any  great  mark 
upon  its  pages.  I  believe  that  the  literary  features  were 
originated  by  him.  (His  daughter,  Miss  Jessica  Fletcher, 
was  the  librarian  of  the  Daily  News.)  Mr.  Massingham 
added  to  its  brilliant  record,  and  accomplished  the  cele- 
brated exposure  of  the  De  Rougemont  fraud.  Among 
those    who    played   a   great    part    in    this    "scoop"   were 

B.  F.  C.  Costello,  and,  I  believe,  M.  H.  Donohoe, 
w'ho  subsequently  did  such  admirable  work  for  the 
Chronicle  as  a  war  correspondent.  The  souvenir  of 
this  achievement,  from  which  the  illustration  on  the  next 
page  by  Phil  May  is  taken,  was  a  very  interesting  literary 
effort.     It  has  long  been  out  of  print. 

Mr.  Massingham  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  W.  J.  Fisher, 
who,  I  believe,  had  been  foreign  editor.  He  was  editor 
for  some  five  years.     Mr.  Donald  became  editor  in  1904. 

The  Chronicle  has  also  played  a  conspicuous  part  in 
regard  to  pictures,  having  printed  a  number  of  notable 
drawings  (some  of  them  occupying  full  pages)  by 
such  eminent  artists  as  Joseph   Pennell,    Hedley  Fitton, 


72 


The  Street  of  Ink 


\TRuC  Si''^''^ 


Whistler,    Burne    Jones,    Phil    May,    Brangwyn,    Byam 
Shaw,  and  Edmund  J.  Sullivan. 

Many  big  "scoops"  are  to  be  credited  to  the  Daily 
Chronicle  in  connection  with  exploration.  In  1896  it 
published  exclusively  Dr.  Nansen's  narrative  of  his 
attempt  to  reach  the  North  Pole.  The  explorer  re- 
ceived ;^'4,ooo  for  this.      Captain   Amundsen's  story  of 

the  discovery  of  the 
■^<^  South  Pole  appeared 
,c%;^y  exclusively  in  its 
columns,  and  a  similar 
success  was  scored  with 
the  accounts  of  the 
Shackleton  expeditions. 
Other  "scoops"  to  be 
mentioned  are  a  com- 
plete description  of  the 
scenes  in  Lisbon  when 
the  Portuguese  mon- 
archy was  overthrown, 
the  first  full  story  of 
^  the   bombardment   and 

One  of  Phil  May's  illustrations  from  the      occupation     of     Tripoli 
De  Rougemont  Souvenir  .         ^^^     Italians,     and 

{By  permission  of  the  "  Daily  Chronicle  )  ■'  •  i        i 

an  interview  with  the 
present  Sultan  of  Turkey  obtained  an  hour  before  he  was 
called  to  the  throne. 

Mr.  Donald's  deputy  is  E.  A.  Perris,  who  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  London  News  Agency,  and  is  now 
the  capable  news  editor  of  the  Daily  Chronicle. 

It  is  a  fine  achievement  to  have  combined  the  old 
traditions  of  the  paper  with  modern  enterprise,  and  to 
have  made  a  success  such  as  one  must  credit  to  the 
Chronicle  to-day.  More  especially  is  this  the  case  when 
one  remembers  that  Lloyd's  News  is  also  under  the  same 
control.       Mr.    Thomas    Catling   built    up    this   property 


"Lloyd's  News''  73 

in  association  with  the  late  Mr.  Edward  Lloyd,  and  un- 
doubtedly the  success  of  Lloyd's  stimulated  its  proprietor 
to  extend  his  enterprises  into  the  realms  of  daily  journal- 
ism.    Mr.   Catling  succeeded   Mr.   Blanchard  Jerrold  as 
editor  in  1884,  and  retired  at  the  end  of  1906.     I  cannot 
tell  the  story  of  his  many  successes,  but  will  give  a  typical 
one.     He  himself  has  told  in  his  interesting  book,  "My 
Life's  Pilgrimage,"   how  Queen   Victoria's  letter  on  the 
death  of   Prince   Henry  of   Battenberg  appeared  on   the 
morning  after  Lloyd's  had  reached  the  million  circulation. 
The  fact,   he  said,  was  deemed  sufficient  to  warrant  ap- 
proaching Her  Majesty  with  a  request  for  permission  to 
print    the    letter    in    facsimile.       The    Home    Secretary, 
however,   replied  that  such  application  would  be  useless, 
as  he  had  already  asked  the  Queen  on  behalf  of  another 
paper   and   been    refused.      Undaunted,    Mr.    Catling   re- 
solved  to   ask   the   Queen's   private   secretary   to   lay   his 
request  before  Her   Majesty.     Subsequently,   a  telegram 
came   giving   the    necessary   permission    and   authorising 
Mr.    Catling   to   apply    to   the    Home    Secretary   for   the 
original  letter.       Many  difficulties  were  put  in   his  way, 
and  the  letter  was  not  forthcoming.     Finally  an  answer 
was   given    that    the    letter    would    not   be   obtainable    in 
time  for  the  next  issue.      The  outlook  appeared  blacker 
still  when  a  telegram  was  received  from  Windsor  Castle 
saying   that   permission    to   reproduce   the    Queen's  letter 
must   stand   over   for   the   present;    but    it   was    followed 
a   day  or  two  later  by  a    letter  from   Sir   A.   J.    Bigge, 
enclosing    the     Queen's     own     letter     for     reproduction. 
"What   had   happened   in   the    interval    was   plain,"    Mr. 
Catling    said.      "To   save   any    further   secretarial    inter- 
ference, even  from  a  high  officer  of  State,  the  Queen  must 
have  commanded  the  letter  to  be  sent  back  to  her,  and  then 
ordered  it  to  be  forwarded  directly  to  me." 

I  take  leave  to  quote  this  story  as  a  classic  example  of 
what  enterprise  and  perseverance  will  accomplish,  and  it 


74  The  Street  of  Ink 

may  be  commended  as  an  example  of  both  tact  and  ability 
to  the  young  journalist  of  to-day,  and  as  an  indication  of 
the  brilliant  work  which  made  Lloyd's  News  one  of  the 
great  successes  of  the  Street  of  Ink.  It  is  interesting 
to  recall  the  fact  that  12  Salisbury  Square,  which  is  the 
home  of  Lloyd's  News,  occupies  the  site  of  an  old  house 
where  Samuel  Richardson  had  a  printing  press  and  actu- 
ally w-rote  "Pamela,"  and  where  Oliver  Goldsmith  for  some 
time  acted  as  reader  and  corrector  of  the  press. 

During  Mr.  Donald's  time  the  organisation  w^hich  he 
controls  has  undergone  many  changes.  Old  ideas  have 
been  scrapped  (such  as  the  colonial  news  in  the  Daily 
Chronicle,  which  had  to  give  way  to  more  popular 
features),  the  size  of  the  paper  has  been  revolutionised, 
and  the  building  itself  has  been  remodelled.  Shortly 
before  this  book  went  to  press  I  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of 
a  "personally-conducted  tour"  through  the  reconstructed 
buildings.  Old  members  of  the  staff  say  that  during 
the  whole  period  of  their  connection  with  the  paper 
the  process  of  rebuilding  has  been  going  on.  Nothing 
has  been  left  undone  to  make  a  modern  and  up-to-date 
house  for  the  papers.  One  notices  at  once  the  prevalence 
of  white  tiles,  which  make  immediately  for  light  and 
cleanliness.  I  myself  was  most  impressed  with  the  heating 
and  ventilation  arrangements.  In  a  machine-room,  for 
instance,  one  expects  an  atmosphere  of  heat,  but  when  I 
went  to  see  the  Chronicle  presses  and  composing-room,  I 
noticed  that  the  air  was  practically  as  fresh  as  everywhere 
else  in  the  building. 

The  managing  director's  ow^n  apartment  is  a  fitting 
throne-room  for  the  considerable  kingdom  which  he  rules. 
The  outside  approach  is  paved  with  black  and  white  check 
rubber,  which  ensures  quietness.  The  spacious  room  is 
furnished  in  the  Georgian  style,  and  the  furniture  was 
specially  made  to  harmonise  wath  the  design.  I  particu- 
larly liked  the  lighting  arrangement.     There   is  a  glass 


The  "Daily  Chronicle"  and  "Lloyd's"  75 

window  in  the  ceiling  through  which  artificial  light  comes, 
the  only  lighting  fixture  in  the  room  itself  being  a  reading- 
lamp  for  the  editorial  desk.  The  design  for  this  room,  by 
the  way,  was  exhibited  at  the  Royal  Academy. 

The  Men  at  the  Helm. — All  the  various  changes  in  the 
papers  themselves  and  in  the  building  where  they  are  pro- 
duced have  been  wisely  conceived  and  skilfully  carried  out, 
and  my  brief  indication  of  them  will,  I  hope,  serve  to 
convey  an  adequate  impression  of  the  work  which  is  being 
ably  directed  by  an  honourable  competitor  in  the  Street 
of  Ink. 

There  are,  of  course,  other  names  without  which  the 
briefest  references  to  the  Daily  Chronicle  and  Lloyd's  Neivs 
would  be  incomplete.  Mr.  Frank  Lloyd,  the  chairman  of 
the  company,  devotes  most  of  his  activity  to  his  vast 
paper-making  business.  He  is  well  known,  however,  as 
one  of  the  leading  personalities  of  the  Street  of  Ink,  and 
as  a  man  always  ready  to  initiate  and  encourage  enterprise. 
Mr.  Neil  Turner,  the  general  manager  of  the  Daily 
Chronide  and  Lloyd's,  is  another  prominent  director  of  the 
company,  who  is  highly  respected  in  Fleet  Street.  He  was 
formerly  connected  with  the  paper-making  side  of  Messrs. 
Edward  Lloyd's  business.  Mr.  Neville  Lloyd  (now  in  the 
Royal  Horse  Guards),  a  nephew  of  Mr.  Frank  Lloyd,  com- 
pletes the  directorate.  The  secretary  of  the  company  is  Mr. 
H.  W.  Clarke.  I  should  also  mention  Arthur  Richardson, 
the  advertisement  manager  of  the  Daily  Chronicle,  who 
has  had  a  long  association  with  his  present  managing 
director,  having  been  his  advertisement  manager  on 
London.  He  formerly  occupied  a  similar  position  with 
Lloyd's  Neivs,  w'here  he  was  succeeded  by  T.  E.  Kirby. 

One  can  wish  them  all  success  in  their  efforts.  There  is 
plenty  of  room  for  us  all  in  the  Street  of  Ink,  and  legitimate 
enterprise  is  always  pleasing  and  stimulating,  even  when 
one  has  to  credit  it  to  one's  competitors. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  "DAILY  EXPRESS 


)> 


It  was  on  April  24,  1900,  during  the  Boer  War,  that  the 
Daily  Express  was  started  and  made  an  auspicious  d^but 
with  a  message  from — the  Kaiser  !  It  was  an  achievement 
for  the  new  paper  which,  however,  struck  an  even  more 
interesting  note  by  printing  the  news  on  the  front  page. 
The  innovation  was  adopted  by  the  other  great  halfpenny 
dailies  with  the  solitary  exception  of  the  Daily  Mail. 

The  Daily  Express  had  a  brilliant  staff.  Mr.  (now  Sir) 
Arthur  Pearson  was  his  own  editor  at  the  start,  assisted  by 
Robert  Dennis,  an  able  journalist ;  Fletcher  Robinson,  who 
was  described  to  me  as  "perhaps  the  most  distinguished  of 
dilettante  poets  and  writers  of  his  time";  S.  J.  Pryor,  and 
Alex.  Kenealy.  The  three  last  were  afterwards  editors 
in  their  turn.  Fletcher  Robinson  became  editor  of  the 
Express,  S.  J.  Pryor  of  the  Tribune,  and  Kenealy  of 
the  Daily  Mirror.  R.  D.  Blumenfeld,  the  present 
chairman  of  the  company  and  editor,  joined  Mr.  Pearson 
in  igo2  and  became  editor  in  1904.  He  had  previously 
been  London  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald, 
business  manager  of  the  New  York  Herald  in  New  York, 
and  news  editor  of  the  Daily  Mail.  The  Daily  Express, 
however,  is  now  dissociated  from  the  various  other  in- 
terests which  Pearson  had.  When  he  lost  his  eyesight  in 
1912  and  was  compelled  to  give  up  all  his  newspaper 
interests,  Blumenfeld  formed  a  syndicate  which  acquired 
control  of  the  Daily  Express,  and  he  became  chairman  and 
managing  director  of  the  company. 

The  Staff. — Besides  being  an  able  editor,  Blumenfeld 

76 


The  "Daily  Express"  11 

is  a  delightful  companion,  and  his  ready  wit  makes  him 
equally  acceptable  as  an  after-dinner  speaker.  Archibald 
Rider,  who  presides  over  the  business  department,  pos- 
sesses all  the  high  qualities  to  fit  him  for  his  role,  and  is 
much  liked,  George  Wetton  must  also  be  mentioned. 
His  conjuring  "turns"  (at  which  he  is  a  first-class  per- 
former) are  always  in  demand  when  newspaper  men 
forgather  for  conviviality.  Sidney  Dark  is  another  for 
whom  I  have  a  very  high  regard.  Other  members  of 
the  staff  are  H.  B.  Tourtel  and  Boyle  Lawrence, 
assistant  editors,  the  former  at  night  and  the  latter  by 
day;  J.  B.  Wilson,  the  news  editor;  F.  H.  Farthing, 
the  chief  sub-editor ;  and  Percival  Phillips,  the  senior 
war  correspondent  at  British  Headquarters,  who  has 
"done"  every  w-ar  and  important  international  event 
since  the  beginning  of  the  Daily  Express,  and  has  made 
a  reputation  as  a  war  special.  An  interesting  member 
of  the  staff  is  W.  W.  Warren,  "Orion,"  whose  "Cheery 
Fund  "  has  succeeded  in  sending  to  the  soldiers  thousands 
of  games  and  musical  instruments.  His  daily  column  is  one 
of  the  amusing  things  in  London  journalism.  "Orion," 
who  is  a  real  humorist,  w^as  formerly  head  reader  of  the 
Daily  Express.  It  may  be  noted  in  passing  one  finds  that 
the  majority  of  the  staff,  like  the  editor,  have  been  with  the 
paper  almost  since  its  inception.  Mr.  Blumenfeld  says  : 
"When  I  was  on  the  New  York  Herald  we  had  a  '  shake 
up  '  every  few  weeks,  and  you  never  knew  when  you  got  to 
your  office  in  the  morning  if  you  would  find  a  note  on 
your  desk  announcing  your  promotion  or  your  dismissal, 
so  I  made  up  my  mind  that  if  I  ever  got  full  control  of  a 
newspaper,  my  policy  would  avoid  such  a  nerve  and 
service-destroying  policy." 

The  war  has  sadly  depleted  the  younger  ranks  of  the 
Daily  Express,  from  whose  editorial  offices  alone  seven- 
teen members  of  the  staff  joined  the  Army  as  officers  at 
the  beginning  of  hostilities.      Some  of  them   have  been 


78  The  Street  of  Ink 

killed,  notably  Ivan  Heald,  the  humorist,  and  a  number 
of  them  wounded  and  invalided,  including  Mr.  Blumen- 
feld's  son. 

Pe.\rson's  Early  Newspaper  Days. — From  his  office 
in  Tudor  Street,  Pearson  conducted  many  activities  which 
were  linked  up  with  the  Daily  Express.  In  1904  he  con- 
trolled five  daily  papers  in  the  provinces,  namely,  the 
Midland  Express  and  Evening  Despatch  in  Birmingham, 
the  Neivcastle  Mail  and  Evening  Mail  in  Newcastle,  and 
the  Leicester  Evening  Neivs.  In  addition,  he  had  a  con- 
trolling interest  in  the  St.  James's  Gacette,  and  in  order 
to  fill  up  time  acted  as  chairman  of  the  Tariff  Reform 
League.  This  apparently  was  not  enough,  and  the 
Standard  and  Evening  Standard  were  subsequently  added 
to  the  list.  It  seemed  at  one  time  as  if  The  Times  would 
also  be  brought  into  the  same  combination ;  indeed,  it  was 
said  that  Pearson  had  taken  command,  and  the  news  that 
Lord  Northcliffe  was  actually  in  possession  came  as  a  bolt 
from  the  blue.  I  heard  on  ver\-  good  authority  indeed  that 
there  was,  in  fact,  a  general  idea  of  amalgamating  The 
Times,  the  Standard,  and  the  Daily  Express.  That  would 
have  been  a  remarkable  and  almost  incredible,  as  well 
as  a  ver\'  risky,  experiment.  It  does,  however,  seem 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  an  amalgamation  of  the 
first  two  papers  was  possibly  in  view.  As  we  know  now, 
both  of  them  were  in  a  weak  condition,  and  it  is  interesting 
to  speculate  whether  they  would  have  made  a  strong  com- 
bination. No  doubt  if  it  had  been  done,  the  price  of  The 
Times  would  have  come  down  to  a  penny  even  sooner  than 
it  did. 


CHAPTER  X 

SOME   PICTURE   PAPERS 

THE   "DAILY   MIRROR" 

No  journalistic  experiment  of  recent  years  aroused  more 
interest  than  the  starting  of  the  Daily  Mirror  as  a  woman's 
daily  newspaper.  It  was  an  original  production,  ad- 
mirably planned  and  well  produced.  One  would  have 
thought  that  it  ought  to  have  justified  the  expectations  of 
its  founders,  but  probably  it  was  in  advance  of  the  times. 
I  always  thought  that  the  "suffragettes"  could  have  estab- 
lished a  prosperous  daily  paper  for  women,  but  that  was 
later.  It  would  have  been  an  interesting  experiment  also, 
but  then,  every  new  journalistic  venture  is  interesting. 
One  fact,  however,  seems  obvious.  The  Daily  Mirror's 
appeal  to  women  has  never  failed.  Probably  the  majority 
of  its  earliest  buyers  never  gave  it  up.  It  remained  a 
penny  paper  from  November  2,  1903,  when  it  was  first 
published,  until  January  27  of  the  following  year,  when 
Lord  Northcliffe  scrapped  the  original  idea,  sacrificed  a  large 
amount  of  the  capital  involved,  and  started  it  de  novo  the 
following  day  as  a  halfpenny  picture  newspaper  for  the 
million.  It  v.as  not  actually  for  the  million,  because  the 
circulation,  which  for  the  first  number  was  265,217  copies, 
had  fallen  on  January  27,  1904,  to  24,801  copies,  and  rose 
with  the  change  and  the  reduction  of  price  to  71,690  copies. 
By  the  end  of  the  year,  however,  a  circulation  of  241,449 
copies  was  reached,  and  during  the  years  which  followed 
it  steadily  rose,  and  in  1914  duly  reached  the  million  mark. 
During  that  time  the  paper  outgrew  its  original  offices 
at  2  Carmelite  Street,  and  removed  successively  to  White- 

79 


8o  The  Street  of  Ink 

friars  Street,  and  thence  to  the  handsome  offices  rendered 
vacant  by  the  demise  of  the  Tribune,  which  form  its 
present  home. 

A  great  deal  of  the  success  is  attributable  to  Alexander 
Kenealy,  who  was  editor  from  almost  the  earliest  days 
down  to  the  time  of  his  death  ;  to  Kennedy  Jones,  who  acted 
as  chairman  until  1913;  and  to  Wallace  D.  Roome,  who, 
having  been  on  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Daily  Mail,  was 
appointed  manager  at  the  outset,  and  has  filled  that  office 
with  conspicuous  ability  ever  since.  I  say  that  with  all 
the  more  confidence  because  the  opinion  has  been  endorsed 
by  those  who  are  well  qualified  to  judge. 

Lord  Rothermere  bought  the  Daily  Mirror  from  Lord 
Northcliffe  early  in  January,  1914,  and  has  subsequently 
shown  that  his  journalistic  enterprise  is  only  equalled  by 
his  remarkable  business  gifts.  It  is  difficult  sometimes,  in 
view  of  the  close  relations  which  now  exist,  to  distinguish 
between  editorial  and  managerial  ability.  I  remember  a 
conversation  I  once  had  with  a  well-known  journalist  who 
had  recently  joined  the  Mirror  staff.  We  were  discussing 
Lord  Northcliffe's  methods  (he  w^as  then  the  proprietor), 
and  my  friend  was  telling  me  his  experiences  of  his  chief. 
"He  keeps  coming  into  the  office,"  he  said,   "with  some 

d d  silly  ideas,  which  he  insists  on  us  carrying  out,  and 

when  w'e  have  carried  them  out  we  begin  to  see  how  clever 
they  are  !  "  One  of  these  ideas  was  a  special  Boy  Scouts 
number.  Another  was  a  General  Booth  memorial  number, 
which  put  the  circulation  up  to  over  a  million  for  that  issue. 
In  the  same  category  I  would  place  the  sending  of  a 
special  edition  of  the  Daily  Mirror  by  aeroplane  from 
Hendon  to  Bath,  this  being,  so  I  am  informed,  the  first 
occasion  on  which  an  English  paper  was  distributed  in  this 
manner. 

Some  Ixteresting  "  Exclusives."  —  Editorially,  of 
course,  the  chief  Mirror  "scoops  "  have  been  in  connection 
with    pictures.     There    have    been    many    of    these,    the 


Some  Picture  Papers  8i 

greatest  perhaps  being  the  first  exdusive  photographs  of 
the   "tanks."     The   photographs  of  King   Edward  lying 
on  liis  death-bed  aroused  such  interest  that  copies  of  them 
were   sold   in   the   streets  at   one   shilling   each.      When 
the    Titanic    foundered    the    Daily    Mirror    obtained    ex- 
clusive   pictures    of   events    connected    with    the    greatest 
sea  disaster  in  history,  and  it  was  also  the  first  to  obtain 
photographs   of   the   funeral   of    the    Emperor   of   Japan. 
Other  interesting  pictures  were  secured  of  the  Durbar  at 
Delhi  and  the  Coronation  of  the  King  of  Siam.      Apart 
from   these,   which,    in    the   case   of  a  picture   paper,    re- 
present the  vigilant  pursuit  of  news,   one  should  record 
the    achievements    which    originated    in    the    brains    of 
the  editorial  staff,  such  as  the  photographing  of  the  interior 
of  Vesuvius,  the  attempt  to  climb  Mont  Blanc  earlier  in 
the  year  than  anybody  else  (which  did  not  succeed,  and 
nearly  cost  the  party  their  lives  as  they  were  caught  by  an 
avalanche),  and  the  crossing  of  the   Alps   in  a  balloon, 
which  produced  some  magnificent  pictures. 

Another  enterprise  which  formed  good  publicity  for  the 
paper  was  the  chartering  of  a  special  relief  vessel,  which 
was  filled  with  provisions  and  dispatched  to  St.  Kilda  for 
the  relief  of  the  inhabitants  who  were  starving  owing  to  the 
heavy  seas  which  prevented  food  supplies  from  reaching 
them.  As  an  example  of  the  forethought  which  enables 
such  successes  to  be  planned,  I  need  only  recall  the  occa- 
sion when  the  Daily  Mirror  took  photographs  in  Ireland 
at  eleven  o'clock  one  morning,  brought  them  to  London, 
and  published  them  in  Ireland  on  the  following  morning. 
Looking  at  the  time-table  it  seemed  impossible,  and  indeed 
would  have  been,  but  for  the  special  arrangements  which 
were  made  to  fit  up  an  engraving  plant  on  the  Irish  boat 
and  train.  When  the  plates  arrived  in  London  they  were 
made  up,  printed,  and  the  papers  were  on  their  way  to 
Ireland  again  in  two  hours. 

Many  other  successes  have  been  achieved  during  the 


82  The  Street  of  Ink 

war.  One  thousand  pounds  was  paid  for  a  picture  of  the 
sinking  of  the  Falaba,  and  the  Daily  Mirror  also  published 
the  first  photographs  of  the  sinking  of  the  Blilcher,  the 
sinking  of  the  Emden,  and  the  Battle  of  the  Falkland 
Islands.  It  is  the  only  British  paper  to  have  a  staff  photo- 
grapher attached  to  the  Russian  armies,  in  the  person 
of  G.  H.  Mewes,  who  received  the  Order  of  St.  George  for 
his  services.  The  Daily  Mirror,  I  believe,  was  the  pioneer 
of  sending  photographs  by  telegraph  and  telephone  wires. 

A  Few  Interesting  Personalities. — It  will  be  seen 
that  the  members  of  the  staff  know  their  business  and  are 
well  qualified  in  every  department.  Among  the  most 
popular  features  in  the  paper  are  the  cartoons  by  W.  K. 
Haselden,  who  was  formerly  in  the  insurance  world. 
The  original  "leaders"  over  the  initials  "W.  M."  have 
been  written  by  Richard  Jennings  for  twelve  years, 
and  it  is  said  that  he  receives  more  letters  from  readers 
than  almost  any  other  leader-writer.  One  day  he  wrote 
about  roses  and  received  several  bouquets.  He  promptly 
followed  this  up  with  another  about  bank-notes,  but  on 
this  occasion,  I  was  told,  his  post-bag  was  empty. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  men  on  the  Daily 
Mirror  is  H.  G.  Bartholomew,  who,  in  addition  to  being 
a  director,  occupies  the  important  position  of  art  editor. 
Most  of  the  more  recent  "scoops"  have  been  due  to  his 
enterprise  and  initiative.  His  record  is  indeed  one  to  be 
proud  of,  and  there  is  little  room  for  doubt  that  he  will 
score  many  more  big  triumphs  for  his  paper  and  himself. 
E.  Flynn,  who  has  charge  of  the  news  side,  has  been 
a  familiar  figure  in  the  Street  of  Ink  for  many  years, 
and  was  for  a  long  period  the  London  editor  of  two 
of  the  leading  New  York  newspapers.  For  a  considerable 
time  also  he  was  New  York  correspondent  of  a  London 
news  agency,  and  he  has  worked  as  a  "special"  in  all 
the  capitals  of  Europe.  He  has  been  reporter,  leader- 
writer,  and  special  correspondent,  and  as  he  possesses  ^ 


Some  Picture  Papers  83 

thorough  knowledge  of  the  details  of  pictorial  journalism, 
he  is  well  equipped  for  his  present  work,  and  shows  that 
the  requirements  of  a  picture  paper  on  the  news  side  are 
very  well  looked  after. 

Another  name  I  must  not  omit  to  mention  is  that  of 
Randal  Charlton,  a  gifted  young  author  who  first  made  his 
mark  as  a  "special  "  writer  on  the  Tribune.  Charlton  is  to 
be  seen  everywhere,  and  is  a  great  news  gatherer.  He  started 
the  entertaining  "Rambler"  page  which  is  such  a  sprightly 
feature  of  the  Daily  Mirror,  and  w-hich  he  still  contributes. 
He  has  also  been  associated  with  the  Sunday  Pictorial 
since  the  first.  Walter  Mears,  the  secretary,  and  Gilbert 
A.  Godley  are  other  conspicuous  members  of  a  strong  staff. 

THE   "DAILY  GRAPHIC,"  THE   "DAILY   SKETCH" 
AND  THE  "SUNDAY  HERALD" 

I  should  have  dealt  with  the  Daily  Graphic,  the  Daily 
Sketch,  and  the  Sunday  Herald  fully  in  this  chapter,  ex- 
cept for  the  fact  that  it  was  more  convenient  to  include 
them  with  the  other  activities  of  the  firms  owning  them  in 
Chapters  XIX  and  XI  respectively. 

THE   "SUNDAY   PICTORIAL" 

The  Sunday  Pictorial  has  not  had  a  long  history 
(having  only  been  started  on  March  14,  1915),  but  it  has 
certainly  had  a  glorious  hour  of  crowded  life.  It  was 
conceived  and  produced  in  little  more  than  a  week,  yet  the 
first  number  bore  few  signs  of  haste. 

Every  feature  of  the  paper  was  invented  and  produced 
in  the  space  of  seven  days,  and  a  wonderful  staff  of  con- 
tributors was  arranged.  As  usual,  the  inevitable  "ex- 
perts" enjoyed  themselves  in  the  most  approved  dismal 
fashion  by  prophesying  a  disastrous  failure  for  the  Sunday 
Pictorial,  relying  mainly  upon  the  conventional  belief  that 
the  difficulties  of  distribution  made  the  starting  of  a  new 
Sunday  paper  a  most  hazardous  enterprise.     They  might 


84  The  Street  of  Ink 

have  claimed  additional  justification  for  their  pessimism  by- 
enlarging  upon  the  difficulties  of  coping  with  such  a 
gigantic  problem  in  the  time  allotted.  In  spite  of  every- 
thing, however,  the  Sunday  Pictorial  was  born  with  a  nice 
comfortable  circulation  of  over  1,000,000  copies,  and  it  has 
never  once  fallen  below  the  million.  This  success,  how- 
ever, did  not  convince  the  prophets  of  gloom  who  held  the 
opinion  that  the  initial  success  could  not  possibly  be  kept 
up.  They  were  completely  confounded,  for  since  then  the 
circulation  has  risen  to  over  double  that  number.  The 
building  up  of  such  a  mammoth  circulation  in  such  a  short 
time  constitutes  a  record  in  journalistic  history. 

Having  made  this  brilliant  start,  the  management 
might  have  been  expected  to  score  progressive  successes, 
and  this  proved  to  be  the  case.  A  considerable  sensation 
was  caused  by  the  publication  of  Winston  Churchill's 
series  of  articles  (the  first  he  had  written  since  he  left  the 
Cabinet)  in  July,  1915.  As  showing  the  drawing  powder 
of  a  name,  backed  by  a  powerful  advertising  campaign,  it 
is  interesting  to  note  that  the  announcement  of  the  first 
article  put  up  the  circulation  of  the  issue  containing  it  by 
442,075  copies !  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  circulation 
has  been  achieved  in  such  a  short  time  by  lavish  advertising 
of  editorial  features. 

The  Sunday  Pictorial  has  also  shown  enterprise  with 
regard  to  pictures,  among  which  I  may  mention  Lord 
Kitchener's  "Good-bye,"  the  destruction  of  the  Zeppelin 
"L  20"  off  Norway,  and  the  first  German  submarine  liner. 
It  is  well  edited  by  F.  R.  Sanderson,  who  came  to  London 
from  Glasgow,  and  was  acting  editor  of  the  Leeds  Daily 
News  before  he  became  associated  with  Lord  Rothermere's 
newspapers.  His  assistant  editor,  A.  Campbell,  who  is 
also  art  editor,  likewise  came  to  London  from  the  pro- 
vinces.    For  five  vears  he  was  assistant  editor  and  leader- 

mil 

writer  of  the  Leeds   Mercury,    and  subsequently   held  a 
similar  position  on  the  staff  of  the  Glasgow  Daily  Record. 


Some  Picture  Papers  S5 

He  assisted  in  the  illustrations  departments  of  both  these 
papers,  and  represented  them  for  a  time  in  the  East  during 
the  first  of  the  Balkan  wars. 

Although  the  Sunday  Pictorial  forms  a  separate  com- 
pany from  the  Daily  Mirror,  the  controlling  interest  is  held 
by  the  latter,  which  has  reason  to  be  proud  of  the  con- 
nection. Mr.  Bertram  Lima,  the  chairman  of  both  busi- 
nesses, who  is  in  full  control  of  their  affairs,  is  largely 
responsible  for  the  success  of  the  Sunday  Pictorial.  He 
has  already  earned  a  big  place  for  himself  in  the  news- 
paper world,  and,  considering  his  age  and  the  fact  that 
he  is  also  at  the  head  of  two  large  provincial  newspaper 
offices,  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  successful 
newspaper  men  in  the  Street  of  Ink. 

As  this  book  goes  to  press  both  the  Daily  Mirror  and 
the  Daily  Sketch  announce  an  increase  in  price  to  one 
penny  daily  to  meet  war  conditions. 


CHAPTER  XI 


hulton's 


If  the  average  journalist  were  asked  to  mention  the  most 
enterprising  newspaper  firm  in  the  provinces  he  would, 
I  think,  at  once  reply  "Hulton's."  Hulton's  was  the 
first  firm  to  attack  the  London  newspaper  field  from 
the  provinces,  when  it  did  so  in  the  case  of  the  Daily 
Sketch — a  paper  which  proved  a  success  from  the  out- 
set. In  a  sense,  however,  Hulton's  came  into  London 
before  then  with  the  Sunday  Chronicle,  and  at  present  Mr. 
Hulton  is  the  only  newspaper  proprietor  who  has  a  control- 
ling interest  in  three  Sunday  papers,  for  the  Illustrated  Sun- 
day Herald,  which  grew  out  of  the  success  of  the  Daily 
Sketch,  is  also,  of  course,  under  his  control.  The  Sunday 
Chronicle,  hov»?ever,  is  published  in  Manchester,  and,  with 
the  Umpire,  comes  to  London  just  as  it  reaches  other 
cities. 

In  spite  of  the  success  of  the  Daily  Sketch  in  its  initial 
stages  at  Manchester,  the  firm  found  that  it  could  not  com- 
pete with  the  London  dailies  unless  it  established  a  London 
office,  so  Mr.  Hulton  took  over  the  Daily  Express  premises 
when  that  paper  moved  to  St.  Bride  Street.  And  just 
as  the  Daily  Sketch  grew,  so  it  outgrew  Tudor  Street  and 
had  to  move  again  to  the  specially  built  offices  in  Shoe 
Lane.  "Flitting"  was  accomplished  in  twenty-four  hours, 
a  complicated  undertaking,  and  to-day  these  large  offices, 
I  am  told,  are  already  too  small !  A  bridge  has  been  built 
on  to  adjoining  premises  pending  developments. 

A  Hulton  Mascot. — The  Daily  Sketch  has  a  mascot 
— a  kind   of    "Bluebird,"   despite   the   different  colour — 

86 


The  "Daily  Sketch"  87 

for  the  first  visitor  on  the  day  of  the  flitting  was  a  canary, 
which  hopped  into  the  sub-editors'  room,  and  a  bird  of 
good  omen  it  proved  to  be.  One  member  of  the  staff 
welcomed  the  bird  in  a  princely  manner  by  spreading  a 
silk  handkerchief  on  the  bottom  of  the  cage  for  it  to  sleep 
on!  They  called  it  "Jerry"  out  of  compliment  to  Mr. 
J.  D.  Jeremiah,  who  has  had  so  much  to  do  with  the 
organisation  of  the  mechanical  side  of  the  firm,  and  whose 
appointment  as  provincial  representative  on  the  Paper 
Commission  was  a  distinct  compliment  and  one  of  which 
his  colleagues  in  London  and  Manchester  are  all  proud. 
Some  time  after  "Jerry"  took  up  his  abode  in  the  Shoe 
Lane  offices  a  member  of  the  staff  brought  him  a  mate, 
and  he  now  has  a  merry  family  of  sons  and  daughters. 
I  have  seen  them  all,  and  heard  them  singing  gaily  among 
the  tickers  and  tape  machines. 

The  Daily  Sketch  did  not  desert  Manchester,  however, 
for  the  paper  is  printed  in  duplicate  in  London  and  in  the 
Lancashire  metropolis — dual  establishments  which  make 
possible  the  widest  distribution,  which,  by  the  way,  is  a 
big  advantage  at  times  when  depleted  train  services  make 
distribution  more  than  ever  difficult.  The  starting  of  the 
Daily  Sketch  in  London  so  soon  after  its  first  issue  in 
Manchester  was  something  of  a  venture.  "The  little 
paper,"  as  Mr.  Hulton  told  me,  "met  with  all  the 
tribulations  inseparable  from  new  ventures,  but  it  soon 
overcame  them.  The  public  seemed  to  like  the  paper." 
The  faith  that  was  in  Mr.  Hulton  led  him  to  take  his 
first  London  premises  on  a  twenty-one  years'  lease.  Many 
of  us  will  remember  that  exceptional  obstacles  were  met 
with  in  the  matter  of  distribution,  but  these  were  countered 
with  true  Lancashire  shrewdness,  and  with  an  enterprise 
that  must  have  helped  to  establish  the  Daily  Sketch  as  a 
popular  and  profitable  picture  daily.  It  had  originality  in 
its  very  first  make-up,  and  some  of  its  features  have  since 
been  the  model  for  other  picture  papers. 


88  The  Street  of  Ink 

A  'Busman's  Holiday.— Mr.  James  Heddle,  Mr.  Hul- 
ton's  managing  editor  in  London,  was  the  first  editor  of 
the  Daily  Sketch.  It  appears  that  some  time  before  the 
new  paper  was  started  he  came  to  London  on  a  brief  holi- 
day and,  Hke  the  proverbial  'busman,  to  have  a  look  at  his 
colleagues  working.  To  his  surprise,  he  ran  across  Mr. 
Hulton  (the  "Guv'nor,"  as  everyone  calls  him),  who 
asked  him  to  go  out  to  lunch  as  he  wanted  to  speak  to 
him  on  an  important  matter.  Mr.  Hulton  then  propounded 
his  suggestions  for  the  new  paper  which  he  wanted  to 
start  as  soon  as  possible,  and  asked  how  soon  he  thought 
it  could  be  brought  out.  It  was  then  November,  they 
thought  it  could  be  produced  by  March,  and  March  saw 
it  born.  Heddle  thinks  that  the  popularity  of  the  paper 
is  based  quite  as  much  on  its  features  as  on  its  pictures. 
A  considerable  measure  of  the  success  is  due,  no  doubt, 
to  the  pungency  of  "The  Man  in  the  Street,"  and  to  the 
intimate  survey  of  daily  events  by  "Mr.  Gossip,"  the 
gentleman  who  introduced  a  new  type  of  feature  which 
has  since  proved  a  successful  circulation  mainstay  for 
three  other  publications  at  least.  Both  gentlemen  are 
anonymous,  but  their  friends  are  legion.  They  receive  an 
enormous  number  of  letters  a  day — a  kind  of  popularity 
which  is  a  splendid  if  embarrassing  tribute  to  their 
personal  appeal. 

Some  Notable  Achievements. — But  after  all,  the 
Daily  Sketch  is  mainly  a  picture  paper,  and  "scoop  " 
pictures  have  been  largely  instrumental  in  helping  it 
towards  its  great  circulation.  William  Gore,  one  of  the 
war  photographers  in  Belgium,  was  hidden  in  Brussels 
when  the  Germans  entered,  and  he  remained  long  enough 
to  secure  from  a  German  hospital  at  Mons  photographs  of 
wounded  British  soldiers  who  had  been  captured.  More 
than  that,  with  the  help  of  a  sympathetic  nurse,  he  carried 
twenty-three  letters  from  British  soldiers  to  England 
through  the  German  lines,  and  was  thus  able  to  notify  their 


The  "Daily  Sketch"  89 

wives  and  relatives  of  their  safety  long  before  the  British 
Government  had  any  knowledge  of  their  whereabouts. 
The  pictures  of  the  sinking  of  the  Titanic  were  well 
advertised  at  the  time,  and  later,  those  taken  when  the 
Volturno  went  down  were  so  striking  and  good  that  the 
issue  for  that  night  was  increased  during  editions  from  six- 
teen to  twenty  pages,  an  achievement  that  had  not  hitherto 
been  attempted.  Other  noteworthy  accomplishments 
were  the  snapshots  of  the  Suffragist  tragedy  at  the  Derby ; 
the  first  Irish  Rebellion  pictures,  which  were  secured  by 
Hulton's  when  the  photographer  got  through  the  zone  of 
fire  twice,  caught  train  and  boat,  and  landed  his  photo- 
graphs in  record  time ;  and  the  photographs  secured  by 
a  representative  who  flew  over  Adrianople  during  the  Bal- 
kans campaign.  The  Daily  Sketch,  however,  had  the 
triumph  of  its  young  life  when  it  published  the  pictures 
and  details  of  the  sensational  poison  plot  against  the  lives 
of  Mr.  Lloyd  George  and  Mr.  Arthur  Henderson. 

By  devoting  thousands  of  pounds  to  payment  for  war 
pictures,  the  Daily  Sketch  has  succeeded  in  presenting  to 
the  public  many  very  striking  and  sensational  photographs 
from  land  and  sea.  I  believe,  indeed,  it  was  the  first  paper 
to  give  an  actual  photograph  illustrating  the  now  historic 
phrase  "over  the  top."  The  Falkland  battle  was  also  a 
telling  "scoop." 

Qualities  of  a  Leader. — Mr.  Hulton  himself  is  a 
most  active  member  of  the  staff  who,  according  to  those 
who  work  with  him,  is  a  tireless  chief,  who  gives  everyone 
on  his  staff  the  chance  to  make  good.  He  was  one  of 
the  first  journalists  in  England  to  recognise  the  value 
of  pictures,  and  to  organise  the  picture  side  of  his  news- 
papers, both  as  regards  the  introduction  of  picture  pages 
and  by  establishing  adequate  plant  for  their  production. 
He  is  a  keen  student  of  men,  which  is  an  important 
attribute  in  an  organiser  of  newspapers.  He  found  Percy 
Fearon,    "Poy,"  whose  cartoons   have  achieved   immense 


90  The  Street  of  Ink 

popularity.  "Poy"  started  his  career  with  the  Manchester 
Daily  Dispatch.  His  successor,  "Matt,"  by  the  way,  is 
"going  great  guns." 

The  Colonial  edition  of  the  Daily  Sketch,  in  the  form 
of  a  weekly  publication,  goes  all  over  the  world;  and  a 
Danish  visitor  to  the  recent  Needlework  Exhibition  organ- 
ised by  the  paper  at  the  Central  Hall  told  the  editor  that 
he  had  learned  English  by  reading  its  columns. 

THE   "ILLUSTRATED   SUNDAY   HERALD" 

In  1915  the  Illustrated  Sunday  Herald  was  announced, 
and  as  it  was  the  first  inkling  given  that  a  Sunday  picture 
paper  was  to  be  issued,  Mr.  Hulton  must  be  credited  with 
the  distinction  of  opening  up  a  new  line  of  enterprise  in 
London.  He  expressed  the  opinion  that  apart  from 
being  an  entirely  new  departure,  it  probably  caters  for 
a  new  set  of  readers.  My  own  view  would  be  that  a 
Sunday  picture  paper,  like  the  picture  daily,  is  not 
read  by  a  different  section  of  the  public  from  that  which 
buys  the  older  form  of  Sunday  paper,  but  that  it  is  taken 
by  its  readers  in  addition  to  some  other  journal.  Be  that 
as  it  may,  the  Illustrated  Sunday  Herald  was  a  success 
from  the  first  issue.  It  started  with  a  high  standard,  and 
I  need  only  mention  the  names  of  some  of  its  contributors 
to  show  how  that  level  has  been  maintained.  In  the 
early  stages  of  the  war,  Hilaire  Belloc  was  a  weekly 
contributor,  and  others  included  G.  K.  Chesterton,  H.  G. 
Wells,  Jerome  K.  Jerome,  Blatchford,  and  the  Rev.  R.  J. 
Campbell.  Personally,  I  should  say  unhesitatingly  that 
securing  Mr.  Campbell's  articles  was  one  of  Hulton's 
best  achievements.  His  articles,  I  know,  added  scores  of 
thousands  to  the  circulation.  The  intimate  articles  by 
"Diplomat"  week  by  week  have  already  secured  a  big 
and  increasing  following,  and  in  its  pictures  it  has 
been  amazingly  successful.  It  is  not  often  that  an  editor 
is  congratulated  by  an  editor  of  a  rival  newspaper.    This 


The  "Illustrated  Sunday  Herald '*    91 

has  happened  more  than  once  with  the  Illustrated  Sunday 
Herald.  In  one  of  its  earliest  issues  it  scored  heavily  over 
all  its  competitors  by  giving  three  pages  of  pictures  of  the 
great  railway  smash  in  which  a  troop  train  was  wrecked 
on  the  Scottish  border. 

People  who  buy  picture  papers  know  little  of  the  de- 
velopment that  has  taken  place  in  this  branch  of  journalism. 
Both  the  Daily  Sketch  and  the  Sunday  Herald  have  made 
many  readers  by  the  skilful  use  of  pictures  in  propaganda 
work.  This  is  where  the  real  picture  editor  can  score  over 
his  less  alert  rivals. 

"The  Guv'nor"  started  in  the  newspaper  business 
whilst  still  in  his  teens.  He  seems  to  be  a  believer  in 
young  men,  and  one  could  count  half  a  dozen  editors  of 
successful  papers  who  have  had  most  of  their  experience  in 
the  Manchester  offices  of  the  firm. 

Some  of  Hulton's  "Young  Men." — James  Heddle 
served  first  on  the  Glasgow  News,  and  joined  the 
Hulton  iirm  in  igoo,  when  the  Daily  Dispatch  w-as 
founded.  He  was  acting  editor  of  the  Daily  Dispatch 
before  starting  the  Daily  Sketch.  His  connection  with 
illustrated  journalism  dates  from  early  youth.  He  studied 
at  the  Glasgow  School  of  Art,  and  drew  for  the  London 
and  provincial  papers  when  a  lad,  frequently  illustrating 
his  own  stories.  Other  young  men  who  have  reached 
the  Street  of  Ink  in  Hulton's  team  are  W.  S.  Robin- 
son, editor-in-charge  of  the  Daily  Sketch  since  August, 
1914.  He  is  a  Yorkshireman,  and  has  been  eleven 
years  with  the  firm.  Before  coming  to  London  he 
was  for  four  years  editor-in-charge  of  the  Daily  Dis- 
patch. D.  T.  Phillips,  editor  of  the  Sunday  Herald 
and  chief  sub-editor  of  the  Evening  Stand^ird,  won 
his  spurs  on  the  Dundee  Courier,  and  for  ten  years  was 
acting  editor  of  the  Evening  Chronicle,  Manchester. 
John  Petrie,  picture  editor  of  the  Daily  Sketch,  is  also  a 
Scotsman    who    reached    London    via    Manchester,    and 


92  The  Street  of  Ink 

Tom  Sutcliffe,  the  art  editor  of  the  Illustrated  Sunday 
Herald,  is  another  recruit  from  the  provinces.  All  these 
men  are  well  known  to  press  photographers  and  the 
country  as  keen  judges  of  all  that  is  topical  and  good 
in  up-to-date  photography. 

I  have  referred  to  the  growth  of  the  Hulton  firm  in 
London,  and  how  its  success  has  been  joined  up  with 
the  parent  establishment  in  Manchester.  The  London 
office  is  indeed  a  progressive  child  (one  has  only  to  re- 
member the  recent  acquisition  of  the  Evening  Standard), 
but  in  a  special  way  the  two  offices  are  one.  They  are,  of 
course,  linked  up  by  private  wire  and  telephone,  but  their 
union  is  much  more  definite  than  that,  for  the  principals 
in  the  London  office  have  been  trained  in  Manchester,  and 
are  still,  as  far  as  the  Daily  Sketch  is  concerned,  jointly 
responsible  for  its  production.  The  London  office,  with 
the  huge  presses,  giant  cameras,  and  modern  engraving 
plant,  has  its  counterpart  in  Manchester,  where  the  Daily 
Dispatch,  the  Sunday  Chronicle,  the  Umpire,  the  Evening 
Chronicle,  the  Sporting  Chronicle,  the  Athletic  News, 
and  Ideas  have  their  daily  and  weekly  activities.  Alex- 
ander Paterson,  the  managing  editor  there,  has  found  and 
trained  some  of  the  best  journalists  in  the  country.  The 
list  of  the  papers  above  mentioned  and  their  circula- 
tions are  some  index  to  the  scope  and  capacity  of  this 
keen  journalist.  A  Scotsman  with  a  Yorkshire  and  Lanca- 
shire training  is  a  formidable  person,  I  should  imagine. 
He  seems  to  be  a  successful  mixture  of  ingredients,  any 
way. 

A  Record  of  Progress.— Caradoc  Evans,  the  editor 
of  Ideas,  is  a  man  of  unusual  activity.  His  Welsh  books, 
"My  People"  and  "Capel  Sion,"  have  gained  him  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  fame,  and  when  I  complimented  him 
on  his  editorial  work  and  the  books  he  has  written  and 
asked  him  what  his  hobbies  were,  his  chief  said,  chaffingly, 
"In  his  spare  time  he  tries  to  do  a  little  work  for  the  firm." 


E.  Hulton  &  Co.  93 

My  recollections  of  J.  Dodds,  which  go  back  many- 
years,  are  extremely  pleasant.  I  remember  the  kindnesses 
and  courtesies  he  showed  me  while  he  was  at  Hulton 's 
Manchester  offices  when  I  was  visiting  that  city.  He  con- 
trols a  big  department  with  enterprise  and  prudence. 
On  the  publishing  side  at  Manchester  T.  Bannister, 
and  in  London  R.  B.  Jackson  (another  of  Hulton's 
young  but  old-and-experienced  men)  are  towers  of 
strength  to  the  firm.  It  says  much  for  Mr.  Hulton  that 
so  much  should  have  been  done  in  such  a  short  period  of 
time.  Some  still  call  him  "the  young  Guv'nor,"  as  indeed 
he  is,  but  that  recalls  his  earlier  days  in  the  business — the 
days  when  the  name  of  Hulton  in  the  Street  of  Ink  was  in- 
deed known,  but  when  the  present  huge  building  in  Shoe 
Lane  must  have  been  his  father's  hope  and  the  present 
proprietor's  dream. 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE   LONDON  EVENING  NEWSPAPERS 
THE   "GLOBE  " 

London's  Oldest  Evening  Paper. — The  Globe  has  now 
been  pubhshed  without  interruption,  except  for  the  famous 
break  of  twelve  days  in  the  autumn  of  1915,  for  one 
hundred  and  thirteen  years. 

It  has  had  a  career  which,  as  regards  its  recent  history, 
I  think  can  best  be  described  as  comprising  three 
main  periods — the  time  during  which  Mr.  Madge  was  asso- 
ciated with  it  continuously,  the  interregnum  during  which 
it  experienced  some  vicissitudes,  and  the  period  during 
which  it  has  been  controlled  by  the  present  proprietors  as 
an  entirely  independent  property. 

These  form  distinct  chapters  in  the  life  of  the  paper, 
and  should  therefore  be  regarded  separately,  more  especi- 
ally as  the  present  .proprietors  have  been  faced  (practically 
from  the  outset)  with  unusual  difficulties,  among  the 
greatest  being  the  tremendous  problems  arising  out  of 
war  conditions. 

Mr.  Madge's  association  with  the  paper  was  continuous 
until  1907.  For  part  of  this  period  (up  to  June,  1907)  he 
also  controlled  from  the  Globe  office  the  fortunes  of  the 
Sun,  as  well  as  the  People,  managing  all  three  papers 
simultaneously.  The  Sun  was  obtained  by  a  syndicate 
from  Mr.  Bottomley,  who  was  running  it  as  a  Radical 
paper.  Of  course,  its  size,  as  well  as  its  politics,  was 
altered.  It  was  a  bright  little  paper,  gradually  increasing 
in  circulation  and  popularity,  and  it  was  only  discontinued 
after  over  three  years  because  one  or  two  members  of  the 

q4 


The  "  Globe  "  95 

syndicate  dropped  out.  As  Mr.  Madge  nearly  became 
responsible  for  the  Evening  News  also,  it  will  be  ap- 
propriate to  refer  here  again  to  the  purchase  of  that 
paper  upon  which  I  was  able  to  throw  some  fresh 
light.  As  I  pointed  out  in  an  earlier  chapter,  the  com- 
pany owning  the  Evening  News  received  an  offer  from 
the  Globe  which  was  declined,  and  afterwards  sold 
the  property  to  Lord  Northcliffe  and  Lord  Rothermere 
through  Mr.  Kennedy  Jones.  It  is  not  generally  known 
that  the  offer  made  by  the  Globe  was  to  redeem  the 
debentures,  and  was  at  first  accepted.  Mr.  Madge  tells 
me  that  it  was  then  increased  to  cover  incidental  costs 
and  to  pay  a  small  dividend  to  the  creditors.  The  neces- 
sary legal  documents  were  to  follow,  but  a  visit  which  he 
paid  to  the  Evening  News  premises  led  to  the  information 
that  a  still  better  offer  had  been  received.  Mr.  Madsfe 
thereupon  declined  to  be  a  party  to  further  bargaining 
and  found,  so  he  told  me,  that  the  paper  had  been  sold 
over  his  head. 

It  was  curious  that  as  two  of  the  Harmsworth  brothers 
secured  the  Evening  News  in  competition  with  the  Globe, 
so  another  brother  should  subsequently  acquire  the  Globe 
and  then  re-sell  it  to  Mr.  Madge,  who  had  figured  in 
the  previous  transaction  some  years  before. 

Some  Changes  of  Proprietorship. — Mr.  Hildebrand 
Harmsworth  brought  fresh  ideas  to  the  paper  (notably 
he  introduced  a  lo  o'clock  sporting  edition),  but 
he  failed  to  work  a  new  method  with  old  machinery. 
Various  estimates  are  given  of  the  sum  which  Mr. 
Harmsworth  gave  for  the  Globe,  and  of  the  price 
at  which  he  sold  it.  All  the  estimates  may  be  wrong. 
Mr.  Madge  is  my  authority  for  stating  that  the  purchase 
price  was  ;^75,ooo,  and  that  the  syndicate  of  which  he 
was  the  practical  head  repurchased  the  property  for  a  fifth 
of  that  sum  three  years  afterwards. 

Their  first  action  was  to  transfer  Charles  Palmer  from 


96  The  Street  of  Ink 

the  news  department  to  the  editorial  chair.  He  had  served 
the  Globe  with  loyaUy  and  distinction  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  and  Mr.  Madge  had  formed  a  high  opinion  of 
his  abihties,  which,  I  may  add,  he  still  holds,  as  he  spoke 
of  him  to  me  in  terms  of  admiration  and  said  that  he 
possessed  many  of  the  qualifications  of  a  great  journalist. 
According  to  my  personal  experience,  he  is  popular  with 
his  brethren  in  the  Street  of  Ink,  a  lover  of  music,  a 
fine  singer  himself,  a  very  happy  and  humorous  speaker, 
and  a  good  fellow.  Mr.  Madge  would  naturally  regard 
his  policy  w-ith  a  large  tolerance  and  indulgence,  as  he 
himself  is  not  ashamed  of  having  been  called  to  the  Bar  of 
the  House  to  answer  for  his  journalistic  deeds.  After  a 
period  of  twelve  months  Mr.  Madge  again  retired,  and 
the  Globe  passed  to  the  control  of  Sir  Max  Aitken  (now 
Lord  Beaverbrook),  whose  brilliant  journalistic  work  with 
the  Canadian  Fprces  at  the  front  brought  him  fresh 
laurels.  So  far  as  the  Globe  is  concerned,  Sir  Max  shed 
his  responsibility  after  a  brief  reign,  and  once  more  Mr. 
Madge  stepped  loyally  into  the  breach  until  the  necessary 
new  financial  support  was  forthcoming. 

In  Mr.  Madge's  early  days  at  the  Globe  the  paper  was 
printed  by  hand,  and  he  was  the  first  to  instal  a  linotype 
in  a  London  newspaper  office.  He  also  anticipated  the 
Exchange  Telegraph  Company  by  using  the  tape  machine 
at  the  Globe  some  time  before  any  other  newspaper 
adopted  the  invention.  He  told  me  that  the  inventor, 
Mr.  McMahon,  at  first  intended  the  machine  to  be  used 
in  clubs  for  transmitting  results  of  races.  He  had  no 
idea  that  he  was  producing  an  instrument  that  would 
prove  as  indispensable  to  a  newspaper  as  the  telegraph 
and  the  telephone. 

"Scoops." — I  think  I  am  right  in  saying  that  Mr. 
Madge  was  responsible  for  the  leading  "scoops"  of  the 
Globe  during  the  time  he  managed  it.  He  must  be 
credited   with   the   story   of   the   kidnapping  of   Sun   Yat 


"4^ 


'*»^ 


Mk.  D.   M. 

sutheri.and. 


.Mi(.  Wilson  1'( 


VI 


The  "Globe"  97 

Sen,  the  Chinese  revolutionary;  the  historic  intimation  in 
May,  1878,  of  a  secret  treaty  between  Great  Britain  and 
Russia  (of  which  he  says  the  late  Lord  Salisbury  denied 
the  existence  for  a  month,  and  persisted  in  doing  so  until 
the  Globe  published  the  exact  terms);  and  the  news  of  the 
reprieve  of  Mrs.  Maybrick,  which  was  actually  shouted 
through  the  street  by  Globe  street  sellers,  while  Mr.  Madge 
had  wired  it  to  the  Express  some  hours  before  the  official 
intimation  reached  the  Liverpool  prison  where  she  was 
incarcerated.  Apart  from  these,  the  Globe  was  first 
with  the  announcement  of  the  fall  of  Magdala  in  1868 
and  of  the  sinking  of  the  Victoria  in  1893,  the  latter 
some  hours  before  the  news  was  officially  given.  The  news 
of  the  fall  of  Magdala  came  in  on  a  Sunday  morning. 
Mr.  Madge  was  then  living  on  the  premises  and  promptly 
published  the  intelligence  on  the  shutter  of  the  Globe  office 
and  sent  pulls  round  to  the  clubs. 

Changes. — The  paper  finally  passed  to  a  syndicate  of 
which  Mr.  Dudley  Docker,  chairman  of  the  Metropolitan 
Carriage,  Wagon  and  Finance  Company,  is  the  leading 
light.  Under  the  control  of  Mr.  E.  Foster,  late 
managing  director  of  the  Manchester  Courier  and  the 
Manchester  Evening  Mail  (who  is  also  a  director  of 
the  North  Western  Daily  Mail  and  other  Lancashire 
papers),  the  old  happy  traditions  of  the  Globe  con- 
tinue with  a  full  appreciation  of  the  dignity  of  the 
journal.  The  present  proprietors,  as  one  would  ex- 
pect from  an  essentially  business  syndicate,  carried  out 
root  and  branch  reforms,  but  unfortunately  they  had 
hardly  had  more  than  a  few  weeks  to  get  to  work  before 
the  war  broke  out,  bringing  numerous  difficulties  to  all 
engaged  in  newspaper  production.  Mr.  Foster  reminds 
me  that  the  Globe  was  originally  a  Fleet  Street  organ, 
having  first  appeared  at  13  Salisbury  Square,  although  it 
has  been  published  in  the  Strand  for  something  over  a 
hundred  years.     As  far  back  as  1810,  the  Globe  enjoyed  a 

H 


98  The  Street  of  Ink 

reputation  for  condensing  into  comparatively  small  space 
the  largest  possible  amount  of  news — a  reputation  to  which 
he  believes  it  is  equally  entitled  to-day.  He  added  that 
the  paper  became  pink  in  1868  as  a  result  of  the  esthetic 
instincts  of  the  editor  then  in  office. 

Recent  Editors  and  Contributors. — Editors  in  re- 
cent years  following  Sir  George  Armstrong  have  been 
Ponsonby  Ogle,  Algernon  Locker,  J.  P.  Harrison,  and 
Wadham  Peacock;  and  among  the  many  distinguished 
contributors  may  be  mentioned  Thomas  Ingoldsby,  Mor- 
timer Collins,  T.  E.  Kebbell,  T.  H.  S.  Escott,  Mrs.  Lynn 
Linton,  J.  Comyns  Carr,  Sir  Douglas  Straight,  Judge 
Snagge,  Barry  O'Brien,  the  biographer  of  C.  S.  Parnell, 
C.  L.  Graves,  Harold  Begbie,  and  E.  V.  Lucas.  I  believe 
that  P.  G.  Wodehouse,  one  of  our  most  popular  young 
humorists,  had  charge  of  the  Globe's  "By  the  Way" 
column  for  some  time.  Nor  should  I  omit  to  mention  the 
famous  "Turnover"  which  for  years  was  a  notable  feature 
in  journalism.  The  most  prominent  names  connected  with 
the  Globe  to-day,  in  addition  to  Mr.  Foster,  are  perhaps 
M.  H.  Temple,  the  chief  leader  writer,  and  a  very  well- 
informed  man,  W.  C.  Mycroft,  the  news  editor,  and 
Arthur  Oldham,  Harold  Lewis,  and  Vaughan  Dryden, 
whom  I  may  describe  as  "feature  writers." 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Foster  for  the  story  of  a  most 
interesting  "scoop"  which  dates  back  to  December,  1855, 
when  the  Globe  published  the  exact  figure,  within  20,  of 
the  number  of  troops  at  that  time  in  the  Crimea.  Pre- 
viously Lord  Panmure  had  refused  the  desired  information, 
and  when  the  Minister  vowed  to  discharge  the  subordinate 
from  whom  it  had  been  obtained,  he  was  quietly  referred 
to  the  official  Gazette  which  stated,  after  giving  the  number 
of  sick  in  hospital,  that  it  was  .9  of  the  total  force.  The 
"scoop  "  had  been  obtained  by  means  of  a  simple  sum  in 
arithmetic. 


The  "Westminster  Gazette"        99 

THE   "  WESTMINSTER  GAZETTE  " 

Sir  George  Newnes  made  his  impress  on  daily  journalism 
through  the  Westminster  Gazette,  and  no  man  could  have 
left  the  Street  of  Ink  a  better  memorial.  When  I  came 
into  journalism  the  Westminster  was  two  years  old,  having 
made  its  appearance  on  the  first  day  of  the  Home  Rule 
Session  of  1893. 

Sir  George  was  a  keen  politician,  and  he  had  stepped 
into  the  breach  in  consequence  of  the  defection  from 
Liberalism  of  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  which  changed  its 
politics  when  Mr.  (now  Lord)  Astor  became  proprietor. 
Sp  determined  was  Sir  George  to  repair  the  deficiency 
without  delay,  that  he  was  not  only  undeterred  by  gloomy 
prophecies  of  failure,  but  even  brought  out  the  first  num- 
bers before  the  offices  and  printing  machinery  Avere  ready. 
The  paper  was  edited  in  temporary  offices  in  Tudor  Street, 
and  was  printed  by  Messrs.  Lloyd,  so  that  it  was  originally 
in  a  somewhat  different  shape  from  its  present  form. 

The  Westminster  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  taking  over 
many  of  the  leading  members  of  the  staff  of  the  Pall  Mall, 
including  the  editor,  E.  T.  (now  Sir  E.  T.)  Cook,  who 
left  to  fill  the  editorial  chair  of  the  Daily  News  some  three 
years  later.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  assistant  editor, 
J.  A.  Spender,  who  has  now  been  editor  for  over  twenty- 
one  years,  during  which  time  he  has  written  the  majority  of 
leaders  himself  and  earned  an  undeniable  reputation  as  a 
great  editor  and  a  great  writer. 

The  Press  in  Parliament. — The  news  editor  was  Wil- 
liam Hill,  afterwards  editor  of  the  Weekly  Dispatch  and 
of  the  Tribune.  Sir  F.  C.  Gould  (then  ]\Ir.  Gould)  also 
transferred  his  pencil  from  the  Pall  Mall  to  the  West- 
minster, and  few  will  deny  that  he  was  one  of  the  greatest 
assets  which  the  latter  paper  secured.  I  believe  that  he 
acted  as  assistant  editor  until  the  time  when  he  went  to 
Somerset,  to  enjoy  a  semi-retirement  in  which  he  main- 
tains his  connection   with   the    Westminster  through  the 


100  The  Street  of  Ink 

cartoons  which   he  sends  from   his  country   home.      Sir 
George  Newnes  gave  Sir  Francis  Gould  a  very  free  hand 
with  his  cartoons  from  the  outset.      They  were  really  a 
development  from  the  sketches  with  which  he  illustrated 
Harold  Spender's  Parliamentary  notes,  a  feature  to  which 
great  prominence  was  given.    His  delightful  drawings  and 
the  influence  w^hich  he  exercises  have,  of  course,  made  him 
one  of  the  best-known  political  cartoonists  in  the  world. 
In  those  times,  by  the  way,  Parliament  as  a  general  rule 
received  more  attention  from  all  the  newspapers  than  it 
does  now,   possibly  because   more   prominent   newspaper 
proprietors  were  in  the  House  of  Commons.     Sir  George 
Newnes  was  a  member.    Frank  Newnes  was  also  there  wnth 
his  father.     Professor  Stuart  was  making  a  big  name  for 
himself.    "T.  P."  w^as  prominent  both  in  Westminster  and 
in    the    Street    of    Ink.      Lord    Burnham    was   then    Mr. 
Harry  Lawson,  M.P.     Sir  Henry  Dalziel,  who  is  still  a 
member,  was,  of  course,  another,  and  so  one  might  go  on. 
New   Notes   in    Journalism. — The    circumstances    in 
which  the   Westminst(^'r  was  founded  would  have  made  it 
only    natural    that    political    news   should   be    given    the 
greatest  prominence,  and  I  don't  think  anyone  will  chal- 
lenge the  statement  that  as  a  political  journal  it  is  equally 
strong  to-day.     I  do  not  wish  to  imply  that  the    West- 
minster is  a  political  organ  pure  and  simple.     No  paper 
could  successfully  appeal  to  the  public  by  politics  alone. 
Sir  George  Newnes  did  not  transfer  the  leading  members 
of  the  Pall  Mall  staff  to  Tudor  Street,  finance  them,  and 
produce  a  duplicate  Pall  Mall  entitled  the    Westminster. 
He  introduced  fresh  features  of  his  own  which  gave  it  an 
individuality.     The  article  following  the  leader  has  long 
been  a  popular  feature.     Grant  Allen  was  a  weekly  con- 
tributor to  this,  and  among  others  were  M.  H.  Spielmann, 
William  Archer,  W.  T.  Stead,  Frederick  Greenwood,  and 
Anthony  Hope,  who  contributed  "The  Dolly  Dialogues," 
and  thus  made  his  first  essay  in  literature. 


The  "Westminster  Gazette"      loi 

It  is  interesting  to  record  that  the  Westminster  Gazette 
was  a  pioneer  in  the  publication  of  a  serial  in  a  daily  news- 
paper. The  story  was  "The  Dictator,"  by  the  late  Mr. 
Justin  McCarthy.  The  daily  portions  were  so  far  reduced 
in  length  by  the  demands  for  news  space  that  the  story 
dragged  its  slow  length  along  for  many  months,  and 
finally  came  to  an  abrupt  conclusion  when  the  book  was 
published  in  full  and  in  volume  form  by  Messrs.  Cassell 
long  before  the  daily  parts  had  been  exhausted. 

Some  Journalistic  Achievements. — Among  the  West- 
minster's general  contributors  one  remembers  a  very 
striking  number  of  names.  It  sent  Sir  Arthur  Conan 
Doyle  to  obtain  his  first  experience  as  war  correspondent 
in  the  Sudan  campaign  which  made  the  fame  of  Lord 
Kitchener.  When  P.  F.  Warner  took  out  his  teams  to 
Australia  he  acted  as  correspondent  of  the  W estminster 
Gazette,  and  his  articles  on  cricket  were  long  a  feature  of 
the  paper.  Colonel  A'Court  Repington,  the  military 
correspondent  of  The  Times,  was  previously  the  military 
correspondent  of  the  Westminster  Gazette.  Among  the 
authors  who  have  made  almost  their  first  appearance  in  its 
columns  are  Charles  Garvice,  Perceval  Gibbon,  Algernon 
Blackwood,  and  Rupert  Brooke,  whose  death  in  Gallipoli 
has  been  universally  recognised  as  a  very  heavy  loss  to 
literature.  During  the  present  war  "Action  Front,"  Boyd 
Cable,  and  "  Platoon  Commander "  are  among  the  best- 
known  "discoveries"  of  the  Westminster. 

When  I  asked  Sir  Frank  Newnes  if  he  could  recall  any 
great  "scoop"  of  which  the  Westminster  management  v^^as 
proud,  the  reply  I  got  was  that  a  penny  evening  paper 
cannot  rely  on  sensations;  but  looking  back  over  the 
paper's  existence,  one  would  be  inclined  to  say  that  the 
most  critical  moment  in  its  policy  was  when,  alone  among 
the  London  papers,  and  practically  alone  among  all  the 
papers  of  the  kingdom,  it  declared  against  the  folly  of  a 
war  with   Russia  over  what  was  known  as  the  Dogger 


102  The  Street  of  Ink 

Bank  incident,  when  a  fleet  of  trawlers  was  shelled  by  the 
Russian  fleet.  Had  the  almost  universal  outcry  for  a 
declaration  of  war  not  been  restrained  the  whole  policy  of 
the  Empire  in  recent  years  might  have  been  swung  on  to 
different  lines. 

Sir  George  Newnes  chose  a  green  paper  and  a  bold 
type  to  rest  the  reader's  eye.  He  said  that  it  would  be 
"the  most  elastic  "  of  evening  papers,  and  arranged  so  that 
it  could  be  printed  in  any  size  from  eight  to  twelve  pages, 
rising  two  pages  with  each  edition,  which  was  then  a 
novelty. 

A  Pioneer  of  Illustrations. — The  directors  of  the 
Westminster  pride  themselves  that  it  was  the  pioneer  of 
illustrations  in  the  evening  Press,  and  invite  anyone  who 
doubts  the  claim  to  turn  back  to  the  early  numbers,  where 
he  will  find  "a  bevy  of  illustrations  which  have  not  been 
equalled  since." 

Sir  George  Newnes  was  before  his  time  in  his  belief  in 
illustrations.  He  foresaw  that  the  public  would  want 
pictures.  He  expressed  that  belief  in  the  publication  of  the 
Daily  Courier,  which  was  issued  from  the  same  office  as 
the  Westminster  Gazette ;  but  public  opinion  was  not  then 
ripe  for  the  picture  paper,  and  others  have  reaped  where 
he  sowed. 

One  of  the  best  features  of  the  Westminster,  in  my 
opinion,  is  the  admirable  "London  Letter."  The  manager 
is  Alfred  PL  Watson,  and  another  member  of  the  staff 
to  be  mentioned  is  Sidney  G.  Coram,  who  was  previously 
with  Pearsons. 

The  success  of  the  Westminster,  particularly  in  its 
early  days,  is  a  tribute  to  the  ability  and  foresight  of  Sir 
George  Newnes.  One  of  his  beliefs  was  that  the  public 
would  quickly  accept  an  evening  paper  with  only  one  edi- 
tion a  day,  published  about  five  o'clock,  giving  all  the 
news  of  the  day,  sub-edited  with  that  care  which  ample 
time   would   make   possible,    and   dealing   in    its   leading 


The  "Evening  Standard"  io3 

columns  with  events  which  liad  happened  since  the  morn- 
ing papers  were  pubUshed.  He  often  wondered  whether 
his  dream  would  be  realised. 

THE   "  EVENING   STANDARD  " 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  the  morning  Standard 
grew  out  of  the  Evening  Standard),  which  had  been  in 
existence  for  several  years  when  its  proprietor,  Mr.  Stanley 
Lees  Giffard,  the  father  of  Lord  Halsbury,  became  first 
editor  of  the  former  journal.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that 
even  in  those  days  the  Evening  Standard  enjoyed  a  great 
reputation  in  financial  circles,  and  that  its  general  note  was 
solidity  as  contrasted  with  what  one  might  term  "fancy" 
features  such  as  light  articles. 

When  Sir  Arthur  (then  Mr.)  Pearson  assumed  control 
of  the  morning  and  evening  Standards  he  effected  the 
amalgamation  of  the  latter  paper  with  the  St.  James's 
(as  it  was  popularly  called),  his  aim  being  to  combine  the 
qualities  of  each  and  at  the  same  time  secure  the  benefit 
of  their  circulations  and  advertising  revenues.  As  is 
usually  the  case  with  enterprise  of  the  rarer  sort,  failure 
was  predicted  on  every  side,  and  he  was  warned  that  he 
would  lose  all  by  trying  to  achieve  the  end  he  had  in  view. 

The  qualities  of  the  St.  James's  are  indicated  by  its 
editorial  contributors.  It  was  founded  by  Frederick 
Greenwood  when  he  left  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  and  among 
his  successors  in  the  editorial  chair  were  Sidney  Low  (still 
a  distinguished  contributor  to  the  Press),  Ronald  McNeill, 
M.P.,  and  S.  J.  Pryor,  the  well-known  editor  of  the 
Tribune — that  most  brilliant  failure  in  the  history  of  jour- 
nalism. The  St.  James's  was  political  in  its  aims,  but 
literature  was  also  part  and  parcel  of  its  being,  and  the 
editors  were  proud  of  their  contributors,  who  included 
Sir  James  Barrie,  Rudyard  Kipling,  and  that  delightful 
essayist  G.  S.  Street. 

A  New  Policy. — I  was  told  that  the  intention  was  to 


104  The  Street  of  Ink 

modify  the  political  element  as  far  as  possible  in  favour  of 
light  comments  on  topics  of  general  interest.  This  was 
part  of  the  larger  idea  to  make  the  evening  paper  not  only 
a  journal  for  men,  but  one  which  their  wives  would  want 
them  to  take  home.  Political  questions,  of  course,  were 
to  be  dealt  with  when  they  were  directly  interesting  to  the 
general  reader,  but  only  for  what  they  were  worth ;  that 
is  to  say,  minute  differences  of  party  were  not  to  be 
entered  into  unduly,  but  the  larger  significance  of  party 
was  always  to  be  considered.  Apart  from  this,  subjects 
which  people  were  talking  about  were  preferred.  A  feature 
was  also  made  of  the  light  article  or  sketch  which  some- 
times became  almost  a  short  story,  and  at  the  same  time 
strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  maintain  the  old  reputation 
for  trustworthiness  of  news. 

A  OuEER  Experience. — The  Eveninsr  Standard  has 
only  once  or  twice  been  guilty  of  what  seemed  like  sensa- 
tionalism. Perhaps  the  most  notable  example  was  given 
a  day  before  the  King  of  Spain's  wedding.  The  news 
reached  the  office  from  what  appeared  a  reliable  source  that 
an  anarchist  attempt  at  assassination  was  to  be  made  on 
the  Royal  couple  on  their  way  to  or  from  the  ceremony. 
The  editor  being  on  holiday,  publication  was  obviously 
an  unusual  responsibility,  and,  needless  to  say,  there  was 
an  almost  violent  difference  of  opinion  between  the  acting 
editor  and  his  immediate  advisers  as  to  the  advisability  of 
inserting  the  "story."  In  the  end  it  was  decided  to 
publish,  and,  as  everyone  knows,  an  attempt  was  actually 
made  on  the  King  and  Queen  the  next  day,  so  that  the 
Evening  Standard  on  the  day  following  the  wedding  was 
able  to  let  the  public  into  its  confidence  so  far  as  to  point 
out  the  embarrassing  situation  in  which  it  had  been 
placed — the  burden  on  the  one  hand  of  not  doing  its 
utmost  to  prevent  a  crime,  and  the  danger  on  the  other  of 
risking  its  reputation  by  printing  what  might  have  been 
deemed  a  cock-and-bull  story. 


The  "Evening  Standard"  io5 

When  the  paper  passed  into  the  possession  of  Mr. 
Davison  Dalziel,  jM.P.,  there  was  no  essential  change  of 
aim,  although  the  value  attached  to  news  of  all  kinds  in- 
creased. Mr.  Hulton,  who  purchased  the  property  from 
Mr.  Dalziel,  tells  me  that  he  thinks  that  when  he  bought 
the  Evening  Standard  in  May,  19 15,  it  had  been  for  some 
time,  at  any  rate,  handicapped  by  the  serious  financial 
position  of  the  morning  Standard.  He  says,  however,  that 
it  has  already  responded  in  the  most  encouraging  way  to 
extra  expenditure,  both  editorially  and  mechanically,  and 
it  is  hoped  that  an  evening  paper  of  the  highest  class  may 
be  established  and  maintained. 

I  should  note  that  the  editors  since  Mr.  Pryor  have  been 
W.  A.  Woodward  (who  held  the  position  for  the  longest 
period  of  any,  and  was  extremely  popular  with  his  staff), 
J.  A.  Kilpatrick,  D.  M.  Sutherland  (now  editor  of  the 
Pall  Mall),  and  A.  Wyatt  Tilby.  The  present  editor  is 
Arthur  H.  Mann,  who  was  born  at  Warwick,  and  started 
journalism  with  the  Western  Mail,  Cardiff,  then  proceeded 
to  the  Birmifigham  Mail,  and  later  to  the  Birmingham 
Dispatch,  of  which  he  was  editor.  He  came  to  London 
as  the  London  editor  of  the  Daily  Dispatch,  Mr.  Hulton's 
Manchester  daily. 

Among  the  others  who  are  responsible  for  the  new 
spirit  which  is  animating  the  Evening  Standard,  I  would 
particularly  mention  D.  T.  Phillips,  chief  sub-editor, 
who  graduated  in  Manchester;  J.  P.  Watson,  the  news 
editor ;  and  Thomas  Lloyd,  the  literary  editor.  Perhaps 
the  best  tribute  to  "A  Londoner's  Diary"  is  the  fact  that 
it  now  has  its  counterpart  in  the  other  penny  evening 
papers  in  London. 

The  Evening  Standard  circulation  is  probably  bigger 
than  ever  it  was,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  new  readers 
must  certainly  have  been  attracted  to  the  paper  by  the 
insight  shown  in  this  daily  causerie  of  the  world,  the  flesh, 
and  the  city !    Its  City  features  are  more  specialised  than 


io6  The  Street  of  Ink 

ever.     Indeed  the  removal  to  46  Shoe  Lane  seems  to  have 
been  a  real  tonic  change. 

The  past  few  years  have  proved  a  period  of  diffi- 
culty for  the  penny  evening  newspapers,  but  it  is  quite 
evident  that  the  Evening  Standard  has  met  the  situation 

successfully. 

THE   "PALL  MALL  GAZETTE" 

Now  let  me  return  to  the  Pall  Mall  to  complete 
this  story.  I  have  always  had  a  "sneaking  regard" 
for  the  P.M.G.  because  its  origin  was  very  similar 
to  that  of  the  Daily  News.  The  latter,  as  everyone 
knows,  was  founded  by  Charles  Dickens,  the  former 
was  inspired  by  Thackeray's  "Pendennis,"  as  "a  paper 
written  by  gentlemen  for  gentlemen."  It  was  founded 
by  that  astute  and  successful  man,  Mr.  George  Smith, 
of  Smith,  Elder  &  Co.,  and  it  has  a  most  brilliant 
history.  The  first  editor  was  Frederick  Greenwood,  and 
it  was  while  he  occupied  this  position  that  he  inspired 
the  British  Government  to  acquire  the  Khedive's  shares 
in  the  Suez  Canal  at  a  cost  of  four  million  pounds.  Green- 
wood was  succeeded  by  John  Morley  (now  Lord  Morley), 
who  filled  the  editorial  chair  for  nearly  three  years,  when 
he  retired  and  W.  T.  Stead  came  upon  the  scene;  Stead 
perhaps  left  the  greatest  impression  upon  the  public 
memory.  Never  shall  I  forget  the  effectiveness  of  his 
"  Modern  Babylon  "  articles  from  an  editorial  point  of  view, 
nor  the  sensation  caused  when  he  was  sent  to  prison 
and  edited  the  P.M.G.  from  Holloway.  We  all  re- 
member how  he  used  to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of 
his  imprisonment  by  wearing  convict's  clothes  in  his  office. 
Stead  also  conducted  a  great  campaign  for  naval  expan- 
sion, popularly  known  as  the  "Two  Keels  to  One 
Campaign." 

His  successor  was  E.  T.  Cook,  who,  however,  hardly 
had  sufficient  time  to  make  his  mark  upon  the  paper, 
and   when    the    Pall   Mall    was    sold    over   his    head    to 


ThQ  "Pall  Mall  Gazette  107 

Lord  Astor,  he,  with  many  of  his  staff,  left  to  found  the 
Westminster. 

The  new  editor  was  Henry  Cust.  Henry  LesHe,  I 
iinow,  lield  the  opinion  that  Cust  was  the  most  brilhant 
editor  in  his  time.  Certainly  he  inaugurated  a  period  of 
unsurpassed  interest,  assisted  by  the  lavish  expenditure 
which  he  was  permitted  by  his  proprietor,  who  determined 
to  make  his  property  a  great  success  if  money  could  achieve 
that  end.  It  was  during  his  editorship  that  the  P.M.G. 
foretold  the  impending  resignation  of  I\Ir.  Gladstone  in 
1894,  which  was  probably  the  greatest  "scoop"  in  its 
history. 

It  was  said  that  the  leader  writers,  after  the  first  edition 
had  gone  to  press,  used  to  gather  together  and  sing  a 
hymn,  such  as  "Now  the  labourer's  task  is  o'er,"  while 
the  editor  would  solemnly  beat  time.  I  believe  it  was  Cust 
who  also  originated  the  system  by  which  the  leader  writers 
used  to  assemble  in  order  to  read  their  articles  aloud  for 
mutual  criticism.    J.  L.  Garvin  abolished  it. 

With  such  men  the  Pall  Mall  renewed  its  youth.  One 
might  equally  say  that  during  the  thirteen  years  of  Sir 
Douglas  Straight's  editorship  it  certainly  fulfilled  the  early 
ideal  of  "being  wTitten  by  gentlemen  for  gentlemen."  It 
was  during  this  period,  I  fancy,  that  Henry  Leslie's  suc- 
cessor as  manager  was  F.  J.  Higginbottom,  who  succeeded 
Sir  Douglas  as  editor.  He  in  turn  was  followed  by 
Mr.  Garvin,  who  astounded  the  staff  on  the  first  morning 
of  his  editorship  by  kneeling  on  the  floor  at  a  table  to 
write  notes  whilst  he  kept  up  a. tremendous  flow  of  con- 
versation. They  were  struck  as  much  by  his  brilliant 
talk  as  by  his  journalistic  powers,  and  indeed  he  conveyed 
the  impression  that  great  as  he  undoubtedly  was,  and  is, 
as  a  journalist,  he  was  greater  still  as  a  conversationalist. 
Mr.  Garvin,  by  the  way,  scored  a  very  similar  "scoop  " 
to  that  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  resignation,  by  announcing  the 
forthcoming  formation  of  the  Coalition   Ministry,   but  it 


io8  The  Street  of  Ink 

did  not  create  anything  like  the  same  sensation,  presum- 
ably because  the  world  was  satiated  with  far  more 
momentous  happenings. 

The  "Pall  Mall"  To-Day.— On  August  31,  1915, 
the  Pall  Mall  again  changed  hands,  being  acquired  by  Mr. 
Davison  Dalziel,  M.P.,  who  was  formerly  chairman  of  the 
company  owning  the  Standard  and  Evening  Standard. 
Mr.  D.  M.  Sutherland,  who  had  edited  the  latter  paper 
up  to  the  time  when  Mr.  Dalziel  relinquished  control,  took 
over  the  "chair"  of  the  Pall  Mall,  and  is  worthily  main- 
taining the  traditions  of  his  predecessors. 

He  told  me,  in  reply  to  a  question,  that  the  aim  of  the 
new  proprietors  was  to  make  it  a  newspaper  without  de- 
preciating its  character  as  a  political  organ,  and  that  its 
policy  would  be  one  of  independent  support  of  the  Coali- 
tion Government.  That  the  paper  has  not  lost  its 
reputation  for  inaugurating  popular  cries,  he  says  "may 
be  gathered  from  the  success  of  its  campaign  for  a  '  Ton 
for  Ton  '  policy,  which  has  earned  wide  support." 

The  names  of  the  editors  of  the  Pall  Mall  are  contained 
in  a  panel  over  the  fireplace  in  the  library  in  the  old  build- 
ing at  Newton  Street.  I  have  known  several  of  them,  and 
many  prominent  members  of  the  staff,  and  am  bound  to  say 
that  I  have  liked  them  all  exceedingly.  F.J.  Higginbottom 
and  my  old  friend  A.  F.  Stephenson,  J. P.,  of  Southport, 
were  inseparable.  The  latter,  of  course,  is  himself  a 
prominent  North  Country  newspaper  proprietor,  and  his 
son  George  succeeded  my  late  colleague  George  Hussey, 
and  subsequently  became  manager  of  the  paper.  When 
J.  L.  Garvin  took  editorial  charge  and  linked  the  Pall  Mall 
up  with  the  Observer,  another  old  friend,  J.  M.  Blanch, 
the  manager  of  the  latter  paper,  took  over  the  business 
management. 

The  list  of  contributors  is  equally  brilliant,  including 
as  it  does  George  Eliot,  Charles  Reade,  Sir  James  Stephen, 
R.  H.  Hutton,  James  Hannay,  Tom  Hughes,  and  James 


The  "Star"  io9 

Greenwood,  who  was  responsible  for  its  first  effort  in  sensa- 
tionalism with  "The  Amateur  Casual." 

The  Pall  Mall  has  had  a  fascinating  and  romantic 
history,  and  occupies  a  very  conspicuous  place  in  the 
Street  of  Ink  upon  which  it  has  shed  much  brightness. 
Early  in  1917  it  was  acquired  by  Sir  Henry  Dalziel, 
but  the  paper  remains  under  the  editorship  of  Mr. 
Sutherland,  and  up  to  the  present  there  have  been  no 
outstanding  changes  to  record. 

THE  "  STAR  •' 

T.  P.  O'Connor  started  the  Star  over  twenty-eight 
years  ago,  as  most  people  are  aware.  When  I  first 
made  his  acquaintance,  on  learning  that  I  was  con- 
nected with  it,  he  said  :  "  Ah  !  you  are  one  of  the  fellows 
who  are  living  on  the  work  I  commenced."  "T.  P." 
was  apparently  endowed  with  the  gift  of  perpetual  youth 
at  his  birth.  Amazing  as  it  may  seem  to  look  at  him  now, 
I  believe  I  am  right  in  saying  that  before  Sala  made  his 
reputation  with  the  Daily  Telegraph,  "  T.  P."  occupied 
a  position  with  that  paper.  He  played  a  great  part  in 
giving  expression  to  the  popular  note  in  newspapers 
through  the  Star,  and  subsequently  in  the  columns  of  the 
Sun,  and  elsewhere.  "The  human  touch,"  in  fact,  well 
describes  his  characteristic  style,  which  reveals  the  Celtic 
temperament  and  imagination  that  make  him  singularly 
responsive  to  the  feelings  and  aspirations  of  the  masses. 
In  the  early  days  of  the  Star  the  top  floor  of  the  building 
was  fitted  as  a  complete  flat  for  his  occupation.  It  in- 
cluded a  dining-room,  drawing-room,  kitchen,  and  bath- 
room, as  well  as  bedrooms.  Thus  he  was  able  to  get  to 
his  work  early  and  late  and  still  find  time  to  attend  to  his 
•Parliamentary  duties.  When  he  relinquished  his  connec- 
tion with  the  Star  it  was,  I  believe,  agreed  that  he  should 
not  be  connected  with  any  London  halfpenny  evening 
paper  for  two  years.     Anyhow,  the  very  day  that  period 


no 


The  Street  of  Ink 


expired,  the  Sun  appeared  under  his  auspices.  The  Star, 
however,  gleams  as  brightly  as  ever  in  the  journalistic 
firmament  from  which  the  Sun  has  long  since  disappeared. 
"T.  P."  was  succeeded  as  editor  of  tlie  Star  by  H.  W. 
Massingham,  and  he  in  turn  by  Ernest  Parke,  who  had 
been  on  the  paper  since  the  beginning,  having  joined  the 
staff  in  October,   1887,  before  its  appearance  in  January, 

1888.  During  the  many  happy 
years  in  which  I  have  worked  with 
him,  I  have  found  that  the  more 
I  got  to  know  him  the  more  I  ap- 
preciated his  qualities  of  mind  and 
heart.  All  the  prime  virtues  of 
journalism,  including  wonderful 
judgment  and  promptitude  of 
action,  are  united  in  him  with  un- 
tiring energy  and  wide  experience. 
We  of  the  Daily  News  and  Star 
consider  that  his  selection  to  re- 
present the  London  papers  on  the 
Paper  Commission  was  one  ex- 
ample at  least  of  the  Government 
choosing  the  best  man  available 
for  the  work  in  view.  His  chief 
vice  is  an  overpowering  modesty, 
which  forbids  his  friends  to  say  what  they  would  like 
about  him. 

There  has  always  been  an  extraordinary  brightness 
about  the  Star.  It  has  been  uninterruptedly  prosperous, 
and  no  paper  has  been  more  uniformly  brilliant.  Not  only 
in  the  London  area,  but  throughout  the  radius  of  the  Home 
Counties,  it  has  exercised  an  enormous  political  and  social 
influence  of  which  politicians  and  social  workers  of  every 
shade  of  thought  are  fully  aware. 

The  Star  has  always  been  admirably  edited.  The 
Street    of    Ink    attributes    that    to    Ernest    Parke,    and 


A  Typical  "  Star"  Bill 

(On    the    report    of  fighting    at 

Damot      in     Somaliland     which 

arrived  during  a  heat  wave) 


The  "Star"  m 

rightly.  Its  crisp  head-lines,  and  its  pithiness,  struck  the 
new  note  in  popular  journalism  very  firmly.  There  was 
once  an  artistic  boy  nursing  his  ambition  and  assisting  in 
the  publishing  office  in  a  very  humble  way.  One  day  a 
member  of  the  staff  showed  "E.  P."  (as  Mr.  Parke  is 
affectionately  known  in  the  office)  a  cartoon  of  himself 
drawn  with  the  wrong  end  of  a  penholder  dipped  in  the 
ink.  It  depicted  him  in  a  particularly  fierce  mood,  and  the 
explanation  represented  him,  I  have  no  doubt,  quite  un- 
truthfully, as  using  some  very  vigorous  language.  The 
member  of  the  staff"  who  showed  it  to  "E.  P."  did  so  with 
some  trepidation,  but  the  amusement  with  which  the  latter 
saw  it  was  rapidly  followed  by  an  appreciation  of  its  clever- 
ness, and  he  offered  Arthur  Moreland,  whom  he  had  en- 
gaged in  Manchester  for  the  circulation  department,  a  post 
in  the  artists'  room.  Everyone  now  knows  the  great 
reputation  he  has  made  for  himself. 

Another  artist  who  made  a  big  name  with  the  Star 
is  W.  Hartley.  His  particular  gift  is  portraiture,  which 
is  more  lifelike  than  photographs  and  for  many  years 
provided  a  popular  feature  of  the  paper.  I  am  hoping 
that  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  conditions  will  permit 
him  to  resume  his  admirable  work. 

The  publishing  department  was  beautifully  organised. 
To  show  how  everything  was  provided  for,  I  may  call 
attention  to  the  old  offices  in  Stonecutter  Street,  on  an 
island  site,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  streets,  so  that  the 
carts  could  be  assembled  and  dispatched  with  the  utmost 
speed.  When  safety  bicycles  came  in  they  were  bought 
for  our  carriers  to  supplement  the  carts,  with  which  they 
entered  into  such  a  fierce  competition  that  the  reckless 
riding  led  to  an  enormous  mortality  among  the  cycles, 
though  not  among  the  cyclists,  I  am  glad  to  say.  This 
high  proportion  of  fatalities  was  reduced  very  quickly  by 
the  simple  expedient  of  making  the  cyclists  provide  their 
own  machines.     To-day,  in  spite  of  a  fleet  of  swift  cars, 


112  The  Street  of  Ink 

the  cyclists  still  remain,  performing  invaluable  work  and 
continuing  to  amaze  pedestrians  with  their  skill  in  dodg- 
ing the  traffic.  I  can  recall  even  to-day  the  sensation 
which  was  caused  when  the  first  pneumatic  tyres  replaced 
the  solid  variety  on  our  cycles,  although  even  that  was 
surpassed  by  the  excitement  when  the  first  motor-car 
appeared. 

I  have  already  referred  to  the  careers  of  certain  mem- 
bers of  the  staff,  some  of  whom  have  since  left  us  to  adorn 
other  offices.  Just  about  the  time  when  I  joined,  the  staff 
included  Robert  Donald,  the  present  editor  of  the  Daily 
Chronicle;  T.  Marlowe,  the  present  editor  of  the  Daily 
Mail,  and  W.  J.  Evans,  now  editor  of  the  Evening  News. 
A  few  years  later  Llewellyn  Williams,  now  K.C.  and 
M.P.,  was  chief  sub-editor.  Practically  all  of  these  were 
appointed,  and  most  of  them  "found,"  by  "E.  P."  It  is 
not  generally  remembered  that  R.  A.  Bennett,  the  editor 
of  Truth,  was  a  member  of  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Star  in 
its  early  days.  Nor  is  it  less  interesting  to  recall  the  fact 
that  when  Joseph  Pennell  (whose  name  I  have  previously 
mentioned  in  this  connection)  was  writing  about  art  for 
the  Star,  years  ago,  his  contributions  were  signed  "A.  U.," 
an  abbreviation  for  "Artist  Unknown."  For  many  years 
the  City  editor  was  Reginald  Geard,  who  exposed  many 
swindles  and  swindlers.  He  is  now  a  partner  in  a  leading 
firm  of  stockbrokers  in  the  City,  and  was  for  years  hon. 
secretary  of  the  Savage  Club,  where  he  is  much  liked. 

To  come  to  my  present  colleagues,  the  first  to  be  men- 
tioned is  James  Douglas,  the  assistant  editor  of  the  Star, 
the  story  of  whose  entrance  into  Fleet  Street  is  quite  along 
the  conventionally  romantic  lines.  He  came  to  London 
from  Ireland,  where,  in  his  own  words,  he  "led  an  idle 
life  as  private  secretary  to  Sir  Edward  Harland,  founder  of 
Harland  &  Wolff."  Harland  leased  the  Earl  of  Antrim's 
seat,  Glenarm  Castle,  and  Douglas  read  every  book  in  the 
library.    He  also  read  every  book  in  the  library  of  another 


vir 


The  "Star"  ii3 

of  Harland's  seats,  and  among  his  recreations  wrote  poetry. 
His  first  journalistic  success,  in  fact,  was  a  sonnet  on 
Browning,  which  appeared  in  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette.  In 
London,  he  says,  he  "discovered  Bernard  Shaw  and 
Walkley  twinkling  in  the  Star,"  and  one  day  called  at  the 
office  with  a  contribution.  In  that  way  he  met  "E.  P.," 
who  paid  him  two  guineas  for  it  and  asked  him  to  send 
him  two  special  editorial  notes  on  any  topic  in  the  last 
edition  of  the  Star.  Next  day  he  found  one  of  them  in  the 
paper,  and  received  an  offer  to  write  editorial  notes.  He 
used  to  come  into  the  office  at  7.30  a.m.,  w-rite  his  notes, 
correct  his  proofs,  and  leave  in  time  to  reach  Sir  Edward 
Harland's  house  at  ten  o'clock.  When  Sir  Edward  died, 
"J.  D."  succeeded  Richard  Le  Gallienne  as  literary  critic 
of  the  Star. 

At  that  time  Professor  Stuart  was  m  daily  attendance 
at  the  office  and  WTOte  some  of  the  leaders  himself.  One 
day  he  asked  Douglas  if  he  could  write  an  article  on 
bimetallism,  and  received  the  unexpected  answer  that  he 
could  write  a  leader  on  anything  !  Ultimately  Douglas 
became  assistant  editor  and  settled  down  to  write  "What 
We  Think "  every  day.  He  quickly  made  this  feature 
famous  for  its  wit  and  pungency.  Sir  W.  Robertson 
Nicoll,  indeed,  has  described  him  as  the  best  leader-writer 
in  Great  Britain.  Being,  he  says,  by  temperament  a 
limpet,  he  has  refused  offers  to  join  the  staff  of  tw^o  New 
York  papers,  and  several  London  newspapers.  He  adds 
that  he  will  be  found  dead  with  the  Star  in  his  hand. 

Douglas  once  wrote  a  note  ending  with  the  w-ords, 
"The  House  of  Lords  must  be  abolished.  Douglas." 
"Douglas"  was  the  printer's  catch-line,  and  by  inadvert- 
ence it  got  into  the  paper  for  a  whole  edition  before  it  was 
noticed  ! 

One  of  Douglas's  brightest  Star  "scoops"  was  the 
Hyde  Park  demonstration  against  the  projected  bombard- 
ment of  Crete  by  the  Powers.  He  started  the  agitation  on 
I 


114  The  Street  of  Ink 

Thursday,  filled  the  paper  with  letters  on  Friday  and 
Saturday,  and  got  100,000  people  into  the  Park  on  Sunday 
afternoon.  Lord  Curzon  came  to  the  Park,  saw  the  well- 
dressed  multitude,  and  Crete  was  saved. 

In  the  same  year  that  I  joined  the  Star,  Wilson  Pope 
became  chief  reporter  in  succession  to  Lincoln  Springfield, 
now  editor  and  part-proprietor  of  London  Opinion.  Pope 
was  appointed  news  editor  of  the  Star  in  1898,  and  still 
occupies  the  position,  performing  his  work  with  a  ver- 
satility which  is  the  more  valuable  as  even  the  holder  of 
such  an  important  position  must,  in  Pope's  words,  "do 
more  or  less  general  utility  work,  as  there  is  not  such  a 
sharp  division  of  functions  on  an  evening  paper  as  on  a 
morning."  As  evidence  of  this,  I  may  further  quote  his 
own  definition  of  his  work  as  "writing  anything  and  every- 
thing from  leading  articles  to  '  Asterisks,'  which  were 
started  for  the  purpose  of  getting  a  light  opening  feature 
on  page  2,  where  they  originally  appeared." 

The  news  editor's  work  on  an  evening  newspaper  pro- 
ducing several  editions  a  day  calls  for  special  qualities  of 
coolness  and  judgment,  and  to  say  that  a  man  is  a  success- 
ful news  editor  on  an  evening  paper  is  to  pay  a  high 
tribute  to  his  brain  power  and  to  his  executive  power. 
That  tribute  I  cheerfully  pay  to  Wilson  Pope. 

Another  young  veteran  of  the  Star  is  R.  S.  Pengelly, 
who,  like  Pope,  whom  he  succeeded  as  chief  reporter,  is 
also  entitled  to  the  proud  journalistic  description  of 
"general  utility  man."  He  possesses  an  authoritative 
knowledge  of  municipal  affairs,  and  his  training  in  the 
courts  has  helped  to  make  the  Star  a  terror  to  evil-doers, 
great  and  small.  It  is  interesting  to  have  his  expert  testi- 
mony that  the  Marconi  case  was  the  hardest  task  he  ever 
shared  in,  "when,"  he  says,  "owing  to  the  jammed  con- 
ditions of  the  committee  room,  the  inadequate  provision 
for  pressmen,  the  furious  passages  of  the  witnesses,  the 
difficulty  of  hearing,  the  intricacy  of  the  financial  opera^ 


The  "Star'^  ii5 

tions  described,  the  length  of  the  reports  required,  and  the 
rate  at  which  they  had  to  be  turned  out,  our  corps  was 
generally  exhausted  when  the  committee  rose." 

F.  W.  Thomas  has  made  a  considerable  and  well 
deserved  reputation  through  his  weekly  humorous  articles. 

There  always  seems  to  be  an  air  of  exuberance  in  the 
Star  offices,  despite  the  troubles  which  beset  an  evening 
newspaper.  I  remember  once  when  paper  was  not  so 
scarce  as  it  is  now,  and  news  was  much  scarcer,  we,  in 
common  with  all  other  papers,  were  suffering  from  a  tem- 
porary attack  of  "Silly  Season."  All  at  once  news  came 
that  William  Terriss  had  been  murdered,  and  an  enthu- 
siastic reporter,  unmindful  of  the  sadness  of  the  occasion, 
in  his  excitement  at  the  prospect  of  good  copy,  dashed  off 
down  the  Strand.  I  can  see  him  now,  tearing  off  in  his 
shirt  sleeves,  having  forgotten  in  his  hurry  to  put  on 
his  coat. 

I  only  wish  I  could  refer  to  all  the  brilliant  men  who 
have  been  associated  with  the  Star's  happy  family,  but 
space  w^ill  not  permit  me  to  do  so.  I  will  conclude  by 
pointing  out  that  the  Star  was  the  cause  of  an  unwonted 
lapse  into  levity  by  the  decorous  Daily  Telegraph.  The 
occasion  was  a  fire  at  our  offices,  which  was  put  out  by  the 
use  of  the  automatic  "sprinklers"  kept  in  the  building. 
Our  penny  morning  contemporary  reported  the  affair  next 
day  under  the  happy  heading,  "Sprinkle,  Sprinkle,  Little 

Star." 

THE   "EVENING   NEWS" 

The  story  of  the  Evenmg  News  dovetails  with  that  of 
the  Daily  Mail,  and  is  incorporated  in  Chapter  VII. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  LONDON  FINANCIAL  AND   SPORTING   DAILY   PAPERS 

The  Financial  Times,  the  Financial  News  and  the  Finan- 
cier come  first  on  the  list  of  financial  papers  because  they 
are  dailies.  Both  the  Economist  and  the  Statist  are  ably 
edited,  and  occupy  an  important  niche  in  the  structure  of 

our  journalism. 

THE   "FINANCIAL  TIMES" 

The  average  reader  would  be  amazed  to  learn  the  variety 
of  expert  knowledge  represented  by  the  staff  of  a  financial 
daily.  The  Financial  Times,  for  instance,  is  edited  by 
C.  H.  Palmer,  B.A.,  LL.B.,  Barrister-at-Law.  The 
assistant  editor  is  W.  H.  Harland,  H.  W.  W.  Palmer  is 
the  chief  leader-writer  and  is  also  an  income-tax  expert, 
and  the  City  editor  is  R.  C.  Burgess.  George  Spring- 
field (a  brother  of  Lincoln's)  was  chief  sub-editor  for 
many  years.  The  present  chief  "sub"  is  P.  F.  Capon. 
So  far  the  description  might  very  well  apply  to  an 
ordinary  daily  with  a  speciality  in  finance.  But  the 
Financial  Times  requires  other  editors  as  well,  in  view 
of  the  subjects  which  must  be  dealt  with  and  the  technical 
knowledge  required.  There  are  two  mining  editors, 
J,  L.  Gallard  (now  at  the  front)  and  D.  W.  King,  and 
a  rubber  editor,  S.  N.  Nettleton  (on  active  service). 
C.  H.  Palmer,  the  editor,  who  has  been  with  the  paper 
since  its  very  early  days,  has  been  good  enough  to 
supply  me  with  some  particulars  which  further  empha- 
sise the  special  knowledge  and  experience  requisite  for 
the  production  of  a  financial  daily;  of  course,  they  apply 
to  normal  times,  when  the  Stock  Exchange  is  busy,  and 

ii6 


The  "Financial  Times"  n? 

not  %vith  exactitude  to  present  war  conditions,  though 
these  involve  special  difficulties  of  their  own. 

The  listing  of  prices  necessitates  the  collating  of  some 
four  thousand  prices  (with  those  of  the  day  preceding), 
from  the  Stock  Exchange  Official  List.  These  official 
prices,  however,  represent  only  those  collected  up  to  3.30 
daily,  w?hereas  the  "House"  in  normal  times  was  open 
until  4  o'clock,  and  until  4.30  on  settling  days,  while  the 
active  markets  used  to  continue  to  deal  long  afterwards 
in  the  "Street."  (The  Street  Market  has  now  temporarily 
vanished.) 

This  involved  the  addition  of  about  another  thousand 
prices,  which  had  to  be  collected  at  the  very  last 
moment  of  actual  dealing,  and  the  effort  involved  may 
be  readily  surmised.  Add  to  these  some  two  thousand  ad- 
ditional quotations  which  would  have  been  received  over 
the  Exchange  Telegraph  Company's  tape  machines,  and 
then  arranged  according  to  the  class  of  security  in  alpha- 
betical order,  and  the  prices  in  chronological  sequence. 
News  is  collected  from  every  centre  of  finance,  and  from 
all  quarters  of  the  globe,  not  merely  news  of  finance,  but  of 
produce — copper,  tin,  iron  and  steel,  wheat,  cotton,  sugar, 
hops,  wool,  jute,  frozen  meat,  coffee,  tea  and  pork.  When 
debates  of  a  financial  or  commercial  character  take  place 
in  Parliament,  when  municipal  finance  is  to  the  fore,  when 
company  matters  are  before  the  law  courts,  or  railway  or 
kindred  Bills  are  before  Parliamentary  Committees,  in 
effect  when  anything  of  financial  importance  happens,  it 
comes  within  the  purview  of  the  financial  daily.  No 
wonder  a  staff  of  experts  is  required  at  home,  and  a  staff 
of  trained  correspondents  in  every  important  town  in  Great 
Britain  and  in  the  market  centres  abroad. 

The  Financial  Times,  however,  did  not  succeed  until 
after  many  vicissitudes  had  been  experienced.  The  real 
founder  was  Douglas  Gordon  Macrae.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded  as   chairman    by    F.    M.    Bridgewater,    who   died 


ii8  The  Street  of  Ink 

in  June,  1915.  His  son,  Frank  F.  Bridgewater,  is 
managing  director  (and  also  editor  of  the  Drapers' 
Record),  whilst  another  son,  Mr.  Howard  Bridgewater, 
who  now  holds  a  commission  in  H.M.  service,  is  also  on 
the  staff.  The  present  chairman  is  Mr.  William  Graham. 
The  late  Mr.  Bridgewater  put  it  on  record  that  it  was 
due  to  Mr.  Macrae's  indomitable  courage,  his  unquench- 
able belief  in  the  future  of  the  enterprise,  and  his  tenacity 
of  purpose,  that  the  early  difficulties  were  surmounted. 
"To  speak  of  the  career  of  the  Financial  Times  for  the  first 
few  years  as  chequered,"  he  said,  "would  be  to  describe  it 
in  too  favourable  terms,  because  there  were  not  even  occa- 
sional patches  of  sunshine.  It  was  all  gloom  and  dis- 
couragement, and  it  \vas  in  spite,  not  only  of  the  advice  of 
his  best  friends,  but  in  flagrant  disregard  of  their  entreaties, 
that  he  persevered  with  the  enterprise  until  he  had  the  satis- 
faction of  seeing  it  achieve  a  large  measure  of  success." 

The  policy  of  the  Financial  Times  is  summed  up  in  the 
words  "Without  fear  or  favour."  Mr.  Bridgewater  used 
to  tell  a  story,  which  derived  its  point  from  the  application 
of  this  motto.  He  said:  "An  editor  was  spending  his 
summer  holidays  with  his  daughter  at  the  seaside.  They 
were  sitting  on  the  front,  the  old  gentleman  reading,  while 
his  daughter  was  admiring  the  reflection  of  the  declining 
sun  on  the  water.  *  Oh,  papa !  '  she  said,  '  do  notice  that 
beautiful  sunset.'  To  which  papa  replied  mechanically, 
without  taking  his  eyes  off  his  book  :  '  No  notice  without 
an  ad.  !  '  "  "There  are,"  Mr.  Bridgewater  said,  "a  great 
many  promoters  of  doubtful  ventures  who  would  be  glad 
if  we  noticed  nothing  that  was  not  advertised  in  our 
columns,  but  we  make  a  practice  of  criticising  every  new 
company  without  regard  to  whether  or  not  it  is  advertised." 
Mr.  C.  H.  Palmer  recalls  the  fact  that  some  time  ago  an 
eminent  judge  was  so  impressed  with  the  temptations  to 
which  financial  writers  were  exposed  that  he  expressed 
surprise  that  any  of  them  should  die  poor.     Those  who 


The  "Financial  News"  HQ 

did  so,  he  said,  deserved  to  have  their  names  inscribed  in 
letters  of  brass.  It  is  to  tiie  honour  of  our  financial 
journalism  that  those  who  do  not  qualify  for  the  brass  in- 
scription are  the  exceptions  from  the  rule.  The  early 
prejudice  against  this  class  of  journalism  has,  however, 
entirely  passed  away.  It  is  recognised  now  as  a  necessity 
of  present  business  conditions,  which  have  involved  an 
enormous  extension  of  the  joint-stock  principle.  During 
the  war  the  Fmancial  Times,  among  other  journals,  has 
rendered  yeoman  service  to  the  Government,  and  specially 
to  the  Treasury,  by  its  careful  and  clear  exposition  of  the 
many  financial  measures  which  the  conduct  of  the  great 
struggle  has  rendered  necessary. 

THE    "FINANCIAL  NEWS" 

The  Financial  Ne'ws,  as  everyone  knows,  was  started 
by  the  late  H.  H.  Marks,  the  first  number  appearing  on 
January  23,  1884.  Mr.  Marks  had  had  an  adventurous 
career  in  America,  and  he  was  just  the  man  to  face  the 
risk  of  starting  a  good  London  financial  daily.  For  three 
or  four  years  the  struggle  was  a  hard  one,  but  afterwards 
fortune  smiled  and  the  reward  came. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  appearance  of  the  Financial  News 
the  City  articles  in  newspapers  consisted  in  the  main  of 
dry  and  colourless  reviews  of  price  movements.  This  news- 
paper sought  to  enliven  the  City  article  by  a  graceful 
literary  touch,  as  well  as  by  freedom  of  criticism  and 
humour  of  treatment.  It  was,  therefore,  a  novelty  in  more 
ways  than  one,  and  set  a  fashion  which  achieved  popularity 
in  the  Press. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  have  expert  knowledge  of  the  Money 
Market  (I  have  had  some  experience,  for  which  I  consider 
I  have  paid  a  good  price,  but  that  is  another  matter),  but 
no  one  in  any  sort  of  business  position  can  fail  to  realise 
how  great  a  part  finance  plays  in  national  as  well  as  busi- 
ness  life.      E.    T.    Powell,    the   editor  of   the   Financial 


120  The  Street  of  Ink 

News,  is  my  authority  for  stating  that  the  readjustment  of 
the  banking  system,  some  fifty  years  ago  (at  the  time  of  the 
Overend-Gurney  crisis  in  1866),  created  a  new  spirit  which, 
at  the  onset  of  the  Baring  crisis  in  1890,  "drew  the 
bankers  into  consolidation  under  the  leadership  of  the 
Bank  of  England  in  order  to  prevent  a  colossal  calamity," 
and  again  when  the  German  war  crisis  burst  upon  us  in 
1 9 14,  "enabled  us  to  roll  back  its  menace  by  a  series  of 
gigantic  financial  fortresses  presenting  an  adamantine 
barrier  to  the  approach  of  disaster."  The  last  quarter  of 
a  century,  too,  witnessed  the  growth  of  the  small  investor 
as  a  class,  which  proved  a  further  source  of  strength,  and 
this  is  undoubtedly  due  in  the  main  to  the  work  of  the 
financial  newspapers  and  the  financial  articles  and  news 
in  the  Press  generally.  Mr.  Powell  points  out  that  in  the 
early  'eighties,  when  the  Financial  News  was  established, 
practically  the  only  active  market  was  that  in  American 
railroad  stocks.  Then  came  the  smaller  investor,  and  after 
his  advent  we  witnessed  the  growing  activity  of  the  mining 
markets  in  the  early  'nineties,  the  great  developments  in 
industrials,  and  the  rubber  and  oil  booms,  which  could  not 
have  achieved  such  magnitude  as  they  did  without  him. 

What  I  have  already  written  about  the  organisation 
of  a  financial  daily  would,  of  course,  apply  in  general 
to  the  Financial  News.  Mr.  Powell  has  graduated  as  a 
Bachelor  of  Law  and  a  Doctor  of  Science  of  London 
University.  He  has  written  an  exhaustive  book  on  "The 
Evolution  of  the  Money  Market  from  1385  to  1915,"  and 
another  on  "The  Practical  Affairs  of  Life,"  in  which  he  has 
embodied  what  he  terms  "the  philosophy  of  efficiency  for 
the  younger  combatants  in  the  battle  of  life."  He  is 
assisted  by  an  expert  stafif.  D.  O.  Croal,  the  chief 
leader-writer,  combines  full  knowledge  with  literary 
trenchancy.  Another  leader-writer,  H.  W.  Wheeler, 
is  a  veteran  among  City  journalists,  whose  work  was  well 
known  even  before  the  Financial  News  was  established. 


The  "Sporting  Life"  121 

W.  A.  Doman  is  familiar  to  a  multitude  of  mining 
readers  by  his  initials  "W.  A.  D.,"  and  H.  H.  Dick 
has  made  his  mark  among  the  younger  school  of  City 
journalists  by  his  grasp  of  financial  topics.  It  is  the  prac- 
tice of  the  Financial  News  to  give  the  younger  members  of 
its  staff  a  course  of  journalism  in  other  centres  of  financial 
activity  besides  London.  Thus  Mr.  Dick  and  the  chief 
night  sub-editor,  Albert  Heron,  have  both  served  in 
New  York,  while  Dick  has  worked  on  the  Paris 
Financial  News  also.  George  Green,  who  "does"  the 
mining  market,  is  one  of  the  most  familiar  figures  in 
Throgmorton  Street  of  an  afternoon,  while  among  the 
rubber  magnates  few  people  are  better  known  than 
G.  V.  White,  who  specialises  in  rubber  and  the  movement 
of  rubber  shares,  as  does  his  colleague,  H.  W. 
Palmer,  in  the  mysteries  of  the  oil  share  market. 

THE  "SPORTING   LIFE" 

Another  class  of  paper  appealing  to  a  special 
public,  and,  likewise,  I  am  afraid,  hit  very  hard  by 
the  war,  is  the  sporting  daily.  The  older  of  the  two 
published  in  London  is  the  Sporting  Life.  It  was 
originally  published  as  Bell's  Life  in  London,  which  was 
first  issued  on  March  3,  1822,  and  was  incorporated  with 
the  Sporting  Life  on  May  31,  1886.  The  Sporting  Life, 
however,  was  founded  on  March  24,  1859,  although  it  was 
not  published  as  a  daily  until  March,  1883. 

Naturally,  its  history  is  a  most  enthralling  one  to  all 
those  who  are  interested  in  sport.  In  its  columns  one 
could  read  the  story  of  Flermit's  Derby,  of  the  Royal  Hunt 
Cup  at  Ascot  in  1881  when  Peter  stopped  to  kick  in  the 
middle  of  the  race,  but  nevertheless  came  home  an  easy 
winner,  of  the  St.  Leger  in  1887  when  Kilwarlin  was  left 
hopelessly  at  the  post  and,  although  seeming  to  have  lost 
the  remotest  chance,  accomplished  an  astounding  victory. 

Equally  interesting  are  the  records  of  other  forms  of 


122  The  Street  of  Ink 

sport  which  have  been  completely  covered  as  a  matter  of 
daily  routine.     I  have  known  that  excellent  young  sports- 
man,  W.  E.   Broomfield,   the  manager,  for  many  years. 
He  explained  to  me  that  the  Sporting  Life  was  the  pro- 
perty of  the  late  Wm.  Macfarlane,  and  is  owned  by  his 
widow   (now   Mrs.    Broomfield),    for  whom   her   husband 
manages   the  paper.     Under  the    late    George    Lowe   the 
paper  gained  great  headway.      He  was  one  of  the  best 
authorities  on  horse  and  dog  breeding  England  has  ever 
known,  and  when  he  retired  in  1903,  Mr.  William  Will, 
now  general  manager  and  director  of  the  Graphic,  became 
managing  editor.     It  was  Will  W'ho  brought  the  present 
editor,    Morley    Brown,    to    London    from    Aberdeen    to 
become    his    lieutenant.       When    Will    left    to    join    the 
Graphic   Lints   Smith,    the   news   editor  of   the   Evening 
Standard,  became  editor  of  the  Sporting  Life,  and  a  few 
months  afterwards  Morley  Brown  was  invited  to  become 
sports  editor  of  the  Daily  Chronicle  and  Lloyd's  News. 
He  returned  to  the  Sporting  Life,   however,   in   1914,   to 
succeed    Lints    Smith    in    the   editorial    chair,    the    latter 
having  been  appointed  associate  general  manager  of  The 
Times.     Morley  Brown  enjoys  the  complete  confidence  of 
his  proprietor,  and  has  given  evidence  of  his  ability  during 
the  very  difficult  times  following  the  war.     This  may  be 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  the  Sporting  Life  has  achieved 
considerable  success  in  raising  funds  for  the  various  war 
charities,   obtaining  a  substantial  sum  for  the  Prince  of 
Wales's  Fund,  and  assisting  very  materially  in  helping 
to  raise  ;^4o,ooo  for  the  provision  of  one  hundred  motor 
ambulances    presented    by    the    Sportsmen's    Ambulance 
Fund,  of  which  Lord  Lonsdale  is  president.     In  addition, 
hundreds  of  pounds  have  been  collected  for  the  paper's 
Boxing  Glove  and  Football  Fund,  and  hundreds  of  pairs 
of  boxing  gloves  and  footballs  have  been  sent  to  soldiers 
and  sailors.     Moreover,   many  military  athletic  meetings 
for    war    charities    have    been    organised    to    assist    the 


The  "Sportsman'^  123 

authorities  in  helping  soldiers  in  their  training,  and  a  little 
while  ago,  at  a  big  military  athletic  meeting  held  at  Alder- 
shot,  King  George  personally  thanked  two  representatives 
of  the  Sporting  Life  for  the  excellent  work  they  were 
doing. 

The  paper  has  also  been  the  medium  for  fixing  up  most 
of  the  great  contests  in  boxing,  billiards,  coursing,  and 
other  kinds  of  sport,  and  has  held  the  stakes  and  appointed 
referees  for  all  the  matches  made  in  its  office.  Broom- 
field  says  that  the  deposits  so  held  and  paid  out  at  different 
times  must  amount  to  about  ;^50,ooo,  although  he  adds  : 
"Unlike  the  banks,  we  have  no  unclaimed  balances." 

Despite  the  fact  that  so  large  a  proportion  of  their 
readers  has  joined  the  forces,  the  management,  as  I  can 
personally  testify,  is  as  cheerful  and  enterprising  as  ever. 
The  paper  is  doing  a  great  work  for  its  readers  at  various 
fronts,  and  is  by  no  means  losing  touch  with  them,  as 
thousands  of  copies  are  regularly  sent  to  the  forces.  There 
is  every  indication  that  its  records  will  be  equalled  and 
even  surpassed  in  the  future,  and  no  men  will  deserve 
better  luck  or  be  wished  more  success  than  the  good  fellows 
whose  offices  face  mine  across  the  Street  of  Ink. 

THE   "SPORTSMAN" 

One  of  the  pleasing  features  of  our  Street  are  the 
friendly  feelings  which  journalists  on  rival  papers  enter- 
tain for  each  other.  The  readers  of  papers  of  different 
political  complexions,  or  holding  different  views  about 
national  policy,  and  pouring  scorn  upon  one  another 
like  quarrelsome  barristers  in  the  Law  Courts,  would 
often  be  surprised  could  they  see  the  men  responsible 
lunching  together  on  terms  of  perfect  amity  like  the 
barristers  referred  to,  who  may  sometimes  be  seen  leav- 
ing the  court  arm-in-arm  after  their  wrangles  are  finished 
for  the  day.  Sometimes  such  papers  will  even  speak  of 
each  other  in  generous  terms,  and  gain  respect  in  con- 


124  The  Street  of  Ink 

sequence.  The  Sportsman  gave  a  very  handsome  ex- 
ample of  this  in  its  jubilee  number  of  August  12,  1915, 
when  speaking  of  its  first  appearance  as  follows  : 

"It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  its  publication  revolu- 
tionised sporting  journalism.  Until  that  time  dear  old 
Bell's  Life  held  the  field  unchallenged,  for  though  the 
Sporting  Life  had  made  its  bow  to  the  public  before  1865, 
it  was  not  then  under  the  able  management  that  has  since 
made  it  our  chief  rival  for  public  favour." 

The  Sportsman  put  racing  in  the  forefront  of  its  pro- 
gramme. Vigilant's  Note  Book,  with  its  intimate  know- 
ledge of  the  betting  markets,  and  reports  from  the 
principal  training  quarters,  were  the  paper's  first  lead- 
ing features,  and  it  is  curious  to  reflect  in  these  days  that 
the  rulers  of  the  Turf  viewed  the  paper  with  dissatisfac- 
tion, and  issued  a  decree  that  unless  the  publication  of 
training  reports  were  discontinued  the  proprietors  of  the 
Sportsman  would  be  warned  off  the  Turf.  The  threat, 
however,  was  never  put  into  execution. 

Despite  the  increasing  popularity  of  the  paper,  the  pro- 
prietors were  passing  through  anxious  times,  and  money 
was  poured  out  like  water.  The  management,  apparently, 
although  possessing  an  excellent  knowledge  of  what  was 
required  by  the  public  to  which  the  paper  appealed,  lacked 
experience  of  newspaper  management,  and  spent  a  lot 
of  money  unwisely.  For  instance,  they  paid  George 
Augustus  Sala  ^300  to  write  twelve  articles  for  them,  and 
although  nobody  w^ould  deny  either  that  he  was  worth  the 
money  or  that  his  writing  was  brilliant  in  the  extreme, 
a  better  choice  could  have  been  made  to  meet  the  tastes 
of  a  purely  sporting  public. 

The  Sportsman,  which  appeared  as  a  bi-weekly 
paper,  was  afterwards  published  three  times  a  week,  then 
four  times,  and  finally  in  1876  as  a  daily.  Many  well 
known  journalists  have  been  connected  with  it,  including 
George  Augustus  Sala,  Charles  Russell,  later  editor  of  the 


The  "Sportsman"  125 

Glasgow  Herald;  John  Corlett,  who  became  proprietor  of 
the  Sporting  Tunes;  Charles  Greenwood,  who  is  regarded 
in  the  office  as  being  probably  the  greatest  personality  of 
them  all,  and  who  enjoyed  an  unrivalled  position  in  the 
Turf  world;  and  Captain  Coe. 

To  the  late  T.  H.  Whitefoot,  then  editor  of  the  Sports- 
man, belonged  the  credit  of  having  brought  over  Hanlon, 
the  Canadian  sculler,  to  the  Mother  Country,  and  the 
origination  of  the  boom  in  aquatic  sport  that  took  place  at 
that  period,  culminating  in  the  presentation  by  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  Sportsman  of  the  Sculling  Championship 
Cup. 

Other  prominent  members  of  the  staff  w^ere  David 
Anderson,  the  dramatic  critic,  who  left  the  Sportsman  to 
go  on  the  Daily  Telegraph;  Archibald  MacNeil,  who  met 
with  a  tragic  end  by  falling  off  the  gangway  of  the  steamer 
at  Boulogne  when  returning  home  from  a  visit  to  the  Con- 
tinent on  the  business  of  the  paper;  and  William  Allison, 
formerly  editor  of  St.  Stephen's  Review,  still  on  the  staff 
and  wTiter  of  the  well  known  "Special  Commissioner" 
articles. 

Mr.  Batty-Smith,  the  present  sole  proprietor  and  editor, 
son  of  one  the  founders,  joined  the  paper  as  a  youth,  and 
his  professional  connection  with  the  Sportsman  was  another 
instance  of  chance  deciding  a  man's  future.  He  was 
merely  putting  in  a  few  months  between  a  sojourn  on  the 
Continent  and  going  up  to  Cambridge  with  a  view  to  the 
Bar,  but  the  stop  en  route  became  a  permanent  one,  and 
Mr.  Batty-Smith  has  been  in  the  Street  of  Ink  ever  since. 
His  alert  brain,  coupled  w-ith  energy,  enterprise,  and  an 
insatiable  appetite  for  work,  took  him  to  the  top  of  the 
tree,  and  when  the  present  difficult  conditions  give  place 
to  more  normal  ones,  the  Sportsman  should  enter  upon  a 
new  era  of  success  under  his  able  control. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

THE  LONDON  SUNDAY  NEWSPAPERS 

THE  "OBSERVER" 

J.  L.  Garvin,  the  editor  of  the  Observer,  who,  as 
everyone  knows,  is  one  of  the  outstanding  figures  in 
Paperland,  has  performed  one  signal  service  to  journalism 
which  is  apt  to  be  overlooked.  He  has  shown  that,  despite 
modern  developments,  the  great  romantic  days  are  by  no 
means  over,  and  that  the  man  of  real  ability  can  force  his 
way  to  the  top  by  the  strength  of  his  own  personality, 
and,  supported  by  the  right  men,  can  even  make  the 
fortunes  of  the  newspaper  with  which  he  is  connected. 

The  striking  success  of  the  Observer  under  Mr. 
Garvin's  control  affords  ample  proof  of  this.  No  one  will 
deny  that  since  its  foundation  so  long  ago  as  1791  it  has 
never  enjoyed  a  period  of  greater  brilliancy  and  popularity 
than  at  the  present  time. 

To  show  the  effect  of  Mr.  Garvin's  work  I  must  go 
back  to  about  1903,  when  the  circulation  of  the  Observer, 
which  was  then  still  a  twopenny  paper,  had  fallen  to  little 
more  than  2,000  weekly.  Lord  Northcliffe  bought  it 
in  1905,  and  offered  the  editorship  to  Mr.  Garvin,  but 
he  was  unable  to  accept  the  invitation  as  he  was  then 
editor  of  the  Outlook,  which  he  had  just  turned  into  a 
sixpenny  review,  and  which  he  did  not  wish  to  desert  at 
a  critical  period.  In  1906,  on  the  occasion  of  the  General 
Election,  Lord  Northcliffe  reduced  the  price  of  the 
Observer  to  one  penny,  but  the  change  did  not  have  much 
effect.  In  the  autumn  of  the  following  year  Mr.  Garvin 
was  again  offered  the  editorship  by  Lord  Northcliffe.     He 

J26 


The  "Observer"  127 

accepted  it  on  condition  that  he  was  allowed,  as  he  put  it 
to  me,  "to  say  my  own  say  about  politics,  and  life,  and 
men  and  women." 

I  am  not  revealing  any  State  secret  when  I  say  that 
at  that  time  the  Observer  was  being  produced  at  a  heavy 
loss,  and,  despite  the  fact  that  its  circulation  had  been 
increased,  it  was  still  no  more  than  approximately  20,000 
a  week. 

The  first  prominent  impression  made  by  the  Observer 
under  Mr.  Garvin's  editorship  was  undoubtedly  obtained 
by  means  of  the  naval  articles  which  appeared  in  igo8  and 
attracted  wide  attention.  They  were  so  well  informed  that 
Lord  Tweedmouth,  when  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty, 
had  a  singular  passage  of  arms  with  the  editor,  whose 
action  was  supported  by  public  opinion. 

At  the  end  of  little  more  than  nine  years  the  Observer 
has  reached  a  circulation  of,  roughly,  a  quarter  of  a  million, 
and  is  more  prosperous  in  every  way,  as  well  as  more 
influential,  than  at  any  period  during  its  long  history. 
Such  a  recovery  is  notable  in  the  records  of  penny 
journalism. 

When  Lord  Northcliffe  ceased  to  be  proprietor  in  igii, 
the  new  proprietor,  as  everyone  knows,  was  Lord  Astor, 
who  subsequently  transferred  the  property  to  his  son, 
Major  the  Hon.  Waldorf  Astor,  ]\LP.  for  Plymouth,  be- 
tween whom  and  Mr.  Garvin  close  ties  of  political  view 
and  personal  friendship  exist. 

I  asked  Mr.  Garvin  how  he  would  summarise  his  policy, 
and  he  replied  that  he  had  been  guided  from  the  outset 
by  three  principles,  all  of  which  had  stood  the  test  of  time, 
(i)  To  give  the  paper,  above  all,  "character."  (2)  To 
restore  in  an  age  of  tabloid  journalism  the  full  treatment 
of  important  subjects.  (3)  To  give  the  public  at  need  what 
it,  at  first,  did  not  want — the  only  real  path  to  moral 
influence. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  unique  editorial  page  gives 


128  The  Street  of  Ink 

the  paper  its  present  decisive  character,  and  its  impar- 
tiality has  been  very  striking.  In  1909  the  Observer  took 
a  very  prominent  part  in  the  great  Budget  struggle,  and 
constantly  foreshadowed  the  developments  of  Unionist 
policy,  although  its  own  attitude  towards  all  public  affairs 
was  strictly  based  on  concern  for  national  defence,  in  view 
of  the  life-or-death  struggle  which  it  declared  to  be  ap- 
proaching. It  never,  however,  abused  the  German  people, 
and  maintained  its  reputation  of  never  hitting  "below  the 
belt,"  however  hard  it  fought. 

Again  in  1910  the  Observer,  after  King  Edward's  death, 
made  the  first  suggestion  for  the  Constitutional  Confer- 
ence, which  was  subsequently  held,  to  try  to  settle  the  Veto 
question,  and  later  in  the  year  attempted  to  save  the 
Conference  and  to  bring  about  a  Coalition  Government 
by  advocating  an  Irish  "settlement  by  consent."  The 
Observer's  support  of  the  Insurance  Act  in  191 1  was  also 
notable,  and  it  is  interesting,  in  view  of  subsequent  events, 
to  remember  that  whilst  strongly  urging  the  Unionist 
party  to  adopt  a  progressive,  democratic  policy,  the  paper 
prophesied  during  the  Agadir  crisis  that  Mr.  Lloyd  George 
might  yet  be  the  nation's  "animating  genius"  were  war 
ever  thrust  upon  us. 

During  the  conflict  the  paper  has  been  distinguished 
by  the  same  consideration  of  keeping  the  national  cause 
above  all  party  recrimination  and  personal  abuse,  and  its 
influence,  if  anything,  has  been  strengthened.  Mr.  Garvin 
is  a  great  editor  of  a  great  paper  himself,  and,  as  one 
would  expect,  gives  much  credit  to  his  colleagues  and 
staff.  There  is  no  doubt  that  a  large  part  of  his  success 
has  been  due  to  the  harmonious  working  of  all  depart- 
ments under  the  editor  and  his  assistant  editors,  Robert 
Bell — a  very  fine  journalist — and  W.  J.  McAliece,  both  of 
whom,  he  says,  must  share  in  any  credit  which  belongs 
to  him. 

The  Observer  has  been  equally  fortunate  on  the  com- 


Mk.  J.  Gennings. 


Mr.  K.  Robbins. 


II 


VIII 


The  "Sunday  Times"  129 

mercial  side  in  its  well-known  manager,  J.  M.  Blanch. 
I  can  well  understand  the  good  feeling  existing  between  the 
commercial  and  editorial  departments,  as  for  many  years 
I  have  known  him  to  be  a  man  whose  business  ability  is 
only  matched  by  his  personal  tact. 

THE   'SUNDAY   TIMES" 

As  I  write  Merthyr  has  just  lost  one  of  its  most 
promising  citizens  in  Alderman  J.  M.  Berry,  J. P.  A 
man  of  strong  personality,  with  noted  business  capacity 
and  a  native  instinct  for  affairs,  he  was  not  only  a 
power  in  the  town,  but  exercised  a  large  influence 
throughout  South  Wales.  He  had  three  sons,  and  of  all 
that  a  long  and  successful  life  brought  him  he  was  most 
proud  of  the  position  they  won  for  themselves.  The 
eldest,  H.  Seymour  Berry,  was  in  business  with  his  father 
for  some  years,  but  has  more  recently  found  a  wider  field 
in  association  with  his  father's  lifelong  friend,  Lord 
Rhondda,  and  has  been  that  nobleman's  right  hand  in  the 
colliery  deals  that  were  effected  in  1916. 

The  two  younger  brothers,  W.  E.  Berry  and  J.  Gomer 
Berry,  struck  out  their  own  lines.  Migrating  to  London 
while  little  more  than  beardless  youths,  they  descended  on 
Fleet  Street,  and,  with  splendid  audacity,  started  a  new 
paper,  the  Advertising  World.  W.  E.  edited  it  with  a 
marked  ability  and  a  freshness  of  view  that  speedily  got 
it  talked  about ;  the  younger  brother  looked  after  the  com- 
mercial side,  and  nursed  it  into  a  property.  Presently 
they  sold  it  for  a  substantial  sum,  for  they  were  men  of 
ideas,  and  meant  to  do  bigger  things.  Two  or  three  other 
papers  were  launched  successfully,  and  incidentally  they 
adventured  as  publishers  of  books  of  various  sorts. 

To  men  of  this  spirit  the  appetite  comes  with  eating, 
and  they  looked  round  for  a  fresh  outlet  for  their  inde- 
fatigable activities.  A  little  bird  whispered  that  the  con- 
trol of  ihe  Sunday  Times  might  be  acquired  at  a  price,  for 

J 


130  The  Street  of  Ink 

the  property  had  been  paying  handsome  dividends  to  both 
its  preference  and  ordinary  shareholders.  It  was  a  matter 
that  required  not  only  large  funds,  but  wary  negotiation, 
for  there  were  other  Richmonds  in  the  field,  and  the 
organisers  of  one  of  the  great  political  parties  were  very 
anxious  to  get  hold  of  it.  The  story  of  the  deal  was  one 
of  the  most  dramatic  that  Fleet  Street  has  known  of  recent 
years,  but  it  cannot  for  obvious  reasons  be  recounted,  and 
it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  Berrys  won  out.  W.  E.  Berry 
became  chairman  of  the  company  and  managing  editor ; 
J.  Gomer  Berry  joined  the  board  :  and  this  united  activity 
is  writ  large  on  the  freshened  life  and  widening  influence 
of  the  paper. 

The  Sunday  Tijnes  was  first  issued  on  October  20, 
1822,  the  title-page  stating  that  the  Independent  Observer 
was  incorporated  with  it.  In  three  months,  however,  it 
passed  into  the  ownership  of  Mr.  Daniel  Whittle  Harvey, 
sometime  M.P.  for  Colchester,  under  whom  it  became  an 
organ  of  Independent  Liberalism,  and  rapidly  grew  in 
influence  and  prosperity.  One  of  the  earliest  articles 
under  his  regime  was  "The  Character  of  Mr.  Cobbett,"  by 
William  Hazlitt,  which  was  afterwards  included  in 
Hazlitt's  "Spirit  of  the  Age."  Mr.  Whittle  was  also  the 
pioneer  of  serial  fiction  in  newspapers,  Harrison  Ains- 
worth's  "Old  St.  Paul's"  being  thus  published  in  the 
Sunday  Times,  for  which  the  author  was  paid  the  sum  of 
;^i,ooo — so  that  big  sums  were  paid  by  newspapers  for 
special  features  even  in  those  days.  Ainsworth's  "Lan- 
cashire Witches"  and  Sheridan  Knowles's  "Fortescue" 
came  out  in  the  same  manner. 

Mr.  Harvey's  connection  with  the  Sunday  Times  ended 
in  the  early  'forties,  and  in  the  next  half-century  the  paper 
had  many  changes  of  ownership.  Among  the  various 
proprietors  were  Mr.  Joseph  Moses  Levy,  who  afterwards 
became  chief  proprietor  of  the  Daily  Telegraph,  and  whose 
§on,  the  late  Lord  Burnham,  also  worked  on  the  paper; 


The  "Sunday  Times"  131 

Mr.  E.  T.  Smith,  well  known  in  his  day  as  the  lessee  of  a 
number  of  theatres;  Mr.  Searle,  of  Leicester  Square; 
Colonel  FitzGeorge,  and  the  late  Sir  Augustus  Harris. 

The  original  price  of  the  paper  was  sevenpence,  which 
was  reduced  to  sixpence  m  1838,  when  the  size  was  in- 
creased from  four  to  eight  pages.  Later  it  was  again 
raised  to  sevenpence,  but  after  the  abolition  of  the  Stamp 
Duties  was  reduced  to  fourpence,  at  which  price  it  remained 
for  a  long  time.  Towards  the  end  of  the  'sixties  there  was 
a  further  reduction  to  twopence,  and  in  the  'eighties  to 
one  penny. 

In  1895  (twenty-two  years  ago)  the  paper  was  owned 
and  edited  by  Mrs.  Rachel  Beer,  probably  the  most 
successful  of  all  women  journalists.  Prior  to  her  advent 
it  had  been  edited  by  the  late  Arthur  a  Beckett,  for  many 
years  assistant  editor  of  Punch  to  Sir  F.  C.  Burnand. 
During  the  changes  of  proprietorship,  the  paper,  which  in 
its  sevenpenny  days  had  attained  a  circulation  of  80,000, 
had  lost  ground,  and  the  net  sales  were  hardly  more  than 
20,000,  a  figure  which,  however,  nearly  doubled  during  the 
Boer  War.  Under  Mrs.  Beer's  editorship  it  altered  to 
an  independent  attitude  in  politics.  "Standing  outside 
the  trammels  of  party,"  says  a  quaintly-worded  article 
of  June  30,  1895 — at  the  time  of  the  general  election — 
"the  Sunday  Times  is  enabled  to  watch  the  struggles  of 
party  politicians  as  an  entomologist  observes  the  contest 
of  rival  tribes  of  ants."  The  same  independence  was  main- 
tained, and  represents  the  policy  of  the  present  proprietors. 

The  printing  and  type-setting  generally  reflected  the 
better-class  journalism  of  the  day.  Headings  were  of  a 
very  modest  character,  and  no  blocks  were  allowed  in 
advertisements.  Editorially,  the  chief  features  were  a 
regular  succession  of  criticisms — then  a  comparative 
novelty — under  the  general  title  of  "In  the  Witness-Box," 
and  a  City  article  by  the  "Cornhill  Magpie,"  which  was  an 
authoritative  exposition  of  the  mysteries  of  "high  finance." 


132  The  Street  of  Ink 

In  March,  1905,  Mrs.  Beer's  interest  in  the  paper  was 
sold  to  the  company  owning  the  Sunday  Special,  a  journal 
which,  as  will  be  remembered,  had  made  its  first  appear- 
ance in  1897,  ^nd  had  rapidly  attained  a  large  influence  and 
circulation.  The  two  papers  were  at  once  incorporated, 
the  new  proprietors  wisely  electing  to  give  the  preference 
to  the  old  title.  A  few  months  ago  the  property  was 
acquired  by  the  present  owners. 

The  editorial  standard  is  a  very  high  one ;  indeed  if 
one  might  make  invidious  comparisons,  the  Burnham 
tradition  still  seems  to  survive,  and  the  tone  of  the  Sunday 
Times  resembles  very  much  that  of  the  Daily  Telegraph. 
My  friend,  W.  E.  Berry,  has  every  reason  to  be  satisfied 
with  his  paper  and  with  the  work  of  his  staff  and  con- 
tributors. 

I  am  sanguine  that  after  the  war  the  Sunday  Times, 
which  already  occupies  one  of  the  foremost  places  among 
Sunday  journals,  will  move  still  higher  up,  and  that  the 
Berrys  will  be  on  top  in  full  bloom. 

THE    "NEWS   OF  THE  WORLD" 

Many  years  ago  I  went  to  the  News  of  the  World  office 
to  see  Mr.  Fifoot  on  a  matter  of  business,  and  as  I  handed 
my  card  to  the  hall  porter  a  tall  clean-shaven  man  with 
dark  hair,  who  was  wearing  a  very  old  squashed-in  hat 
and  a  shabby  tweed  suit  (I  think  he  still  w^ears  them  at 
garden  parties  and  golf)  caught  sight  of  it.  In  those  days 
the  correct  garb  for  the  "Street  of  Ink  "  was  a  glossy  top 
hat  and  a  smart  frock  coat,  and  only  the  wealthiest  or 
the  poorest  dressed  otherwise.  My  first  hasty  impression 
when  he  addressed  me  in  a  kindly  tone  and  asked  "How's 
my  friend  Parke,"  was  that  the  question  seemed  a  little 
familiar,  but  the  effect  of  his  voice  and  a  closer  look  at 
him  convinced  me  that  he  was  the  sort  of  man  who  may 
perhaps  best  be  described  as  a  "personage,"  and  suggested 
that  he  must  be  classed  with  those  who  can  dress  to  please 


The  "News  of  the  World"        i33 

themselves.  I  answered  his  question  politely,  and  in- 
quired what  name  I  should  mention  to  my  chief.  He 
replied,  "Please  say  that  Mr.  Riddell  wishes  to  be  kindly 
remembered  to  him,"  and  that  is  how  I  first  met  the  chief 
proprietor  of  the  News  of  the  World. 

My  personal  inclination  would  be  to  deal  at  some 
length  with  the  personality  and  interests  of  Sir  George 
Riddell,  but  owing  to  the  limited  space  at  my  command  all 
I  can  do  is  to  indicate  in  the  main  the  results  of  his 
activities.  I  know  him  to  be  a  master  of  organisation, 
the  personification  of  shrewdness  and  business  ability,  and 
a  man  with  the  power  of  stripping  a  problem  to  its  bare 
essentials.  He  has  frequently  helped  me  with  advice,  and 
it  was  largely  owing  to  his  suggestion  that  I  entered  upon 
the  responsibilities  of  this  book. 

Sir  George  is  a  veritable  Datas,  and  although  good 
memories  seem  more  or  less  common  amongst  new'spaper 
men,  his  is  really  exceptional.  He  has  Mr.  Lloyd  George's 
gift  for  remembering  events  almost  to  an  hour,  and  I  think 
that,  like  the  Prime  Minister,  he  also  remembers  conversa- 
tions in  minute  detail. 

As  one  example  of  his  quite  unusual  memory,  when 
talking  to  my  wife  some  years  after  he  first  met  her,  he 
said,  "Let  me  see,  now,  you  are  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Creser, 
are  you  not?"  Very  astonished,  she  admitted  the  soft 
impeachment,  and  asked  him  how  he  knew,  whereupon 
he  said,  "I  heard  a  considerable  time  ago  that  Simonis  had 
married  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Creser — the  eminent  organist  of 
the  Chapel  Royal  who  played  the  Wedding  March  for  the 
King  and  Queen,"  which  was  a  fact. 

Sir  George  is  also  a  very  racy  speaker,  who  is  par- 
ticularly welcome  at  dinners,  as  he  tells  a  good  story 
really  well,  and  never  fails  to  lend  sparkle  to  such  dis- 
courses with  some  appropriate  anecdote.  I  remember 
a  Printers'  Pension  dinner  when  it  fell  to  his  lot  to 
propose   the  toast   of   the   Lord   Mayor  and   Corporation, 


134  The  Street  of  Ink 

and  he  told  a  story  of  one  of  Sir  Charles  Wakefield's 
predecessors  which  was  all  the  more  piquant  as  the  point 
of  it  was  against  himself.  The  Lord  Mayor  in  question 
had  responded  to  this  particular  toast  some  900  times,  an 
average  of  about  three  times  daily.  Sir  George  asked  him 
if  he  did  not  find  it  very  boring.  "Perhaps  I  do,  a  little," 
he  replied,  "but  not  nearly  so  boring  as  listening  to  the 
900  old  gentlemen  who  propose  the  toast." 

As  to  Sir  George's  achievements,  the  one  of  which  he 
is  proudest  is  the  three-million  circulation  of  the  News  of 
the  World. 

The  News  of  the  World  was  established  in  1843  by 
John  Browne  Bell,  who  was  already  the  proprietor  of  two 
successful  weekly  papers  known  as  the  Planet  and  Bell's 
New  Weekly  Messenger.  If  one  could  read  the  first 
contents  bill  one  would  see  that  the  idea  of  the  paper  is 
embodied  in  the  title — News  for  the  Million.  And  the 
original  price  was  "only  threepence."  John  Browne  Bell's 
preliminary  advertisements  of  the  Ne%us  of  the  World  were 
characteristic.     Here  is  one  of  them  :  — 

"We  must  positively  and  distinctly  state  that  upon  no 
account  shall  any  alteration  ever  be  made  in  the  price  of 
the  News  of  the  World.  We  intend  and  are  resolved  that 
it  shall  be  sold  for  threepence  only.  We  distinctly  pledge 
ourselves  to  this.  We  enter  into  an  inviolable  compact 
with  the  public  never  to  charge  for  the  News  of  the  World 
more  than  its  present  price.  One  of  the  great  features  of 
the  publication  is  its  extraordinary  cheapness,  and  this 
great  feature  shall  never  be  interfered  with  on  any  account 
whatever." 

In  the  first  number  it  was  stated  "Our  motto  is  truth. 
Our  practice  is  the  fearless  advocacy  of  truth."  The  paper 
at  once  proved  a  success,  so  that  in  1852,  when  the  pro- 
prietor moved  to  Exeter  Street,  Strand,  the  circulation  had 
reached  what  was  then  the  enormous  figure  of  250,000 
copies  per  week,  particularly  when  it  is  remembered  that 


The  "News  of  the  World"        i35 

at  that  time  the  stamp  duty  on  newspapers  was  one  penny 
per  copy  and  the  paper  duty  is.  i^ad.  per  pound. 

John  Browne  Bell  adhered  closely  to  the  promises  made 
in  his  advertisements.  The  paper  was  what  he  predicted, 
and  he  never  altered  its  style.  When  he  died  in  1857, 
having  amassed  a  large  fortune,  the  paper  passed  to  his 
son,  who  was  a  solicitor.  He  carried  it  on  for  many  years, 
and  ultimately  it  passed  to  his  two  sons,  Messrs.  W.  J. 
and  Adolphus  Bell. 

These  gentlemen,  so  Sir  George  Riddell  told  me,  de- 
layed too  long  in  reducing  the  price  to  id.,  and  thus  lost 
a  large  part  of  their  circulation.  The  sale  had  fallen  to  a 
comparatively  low  figure  when,  in  1890,  the  property  was 
acquired  by  the  late  Mr.  Lascelles  Carr,  and  the  present 
proprietors.  Owing  to  skilful  effort  and  patient  and  per- 
sistent work,  based  upon  the  goodwill  created  during  the 
previous  fifty  years,  the  paper  which  had  the  largest  circula- 
tion in  1850  still  has  the  largest  circulation  in  1917.  A 
circulation  in  excess  of  2,500,000  copies  per  week  is  surely  a 
world's  record.  "What  are  your  returns?"  I  inquired. 
"Under  5  per  cent.,"  replied  Sir  George.  The  News  of 
the  World  was,  I  believe,  the  first  publication  to  give  an 
auditors'  certificate  of  net  sales  and  to  lay  its  books  open 
to  bona-fide  advertisers.  Curiously  enough,  the  style 
of  the  publication  has  never  changed.  The  dress  is  more 
modern  to-day  than  it  was  in  1850,  but  the  individuality  of 
the  paper  is  the  same.  Sir  George  says:  "If  you  were 
to  read  the  old  files  with  the  headings  obliterated,  you 
would  at  once  say,  '  Why,  this  paper  is  just  like  the  News 
of  the  World.'"  In  the  course  of  twenty-six  years  the 
paper  has  reached  its  present  colossal  dimensions.  The 
growth  has  been  slow  and  sure.  Every  year  has  seen  an 
increase  and,  furthermore,  there  is  no  part  of  the  world 
where  the  British  language  is  spoken  in  which  it  is  not 
to  be  found. 

This  success  is  due  to  the  twin  essentials  of  journalism, 


136  The  Street  of  Ink 

editorial  and  business  enterprise.  The  Neivs  of  the  World 
has  many  "scoops"  to  its  credit.  It  was  first  with  its  an- 
nouncement of  the  death  of  King  Edward.  It  was  first 
with  the  news  of  the  murder  of  WiUiam  Terriss.  During 
the  Boer  War,  as  in  the  course  of  the  present  war,  it  made 
a  reputation  for  rehabihty  and  celerity  in  providing  im- 
portant news.  Probably  the  most  interesting  "beat"  scored 
in  its  history  was  the  intimation  first  published  in  its 
columns  (on  July  20,  191 1)  that  the  German  Emperor 
had  demanded  the  removal  of  Mr.  Lloyd  George  from 
the  Government  after  his  momentous  speech  at  the 
Guildhall  at  the  time  of  the  Agadir  crisis — an  inci- 
dent which  is  hardly  remembered,  but  is  very  signifi- 
cant. The  Paris  correspondent  of  the  Neivs  of  the 
World  wrote  : 

"In  this  speech,  which  has  done  more  to  preserve  peace 
than  all  the  pourparlers  which  have  taken  place  between 
French  and  German  Ministers,  Mr.  Lloyd  George  said  :  '  I 
would  make  great  sacrifices  to  preserve  peace.  I  can  con- 
ceive of  nothing  that  could  justify  a  disturbance  of  inter- 
national goodwill  except  questions  of  the  greatest  national 
moment,  but  if  a  situation  were  to  be  forced  upon  us,  in 
which  peace  could  only  be  preserved  by  the  surrender  of 
the  great  and  beneficent  position  which  Britain  has  won  by 
centuries  of  heroism  and  achievement,  by  allowing  Britain 
to  be  treated  where  her  interests  were  vitally  affected  as  if 
she  were  of  no  account  in  the  cabinet  of  nations,  then  I 
say  emphatically  that  peace  at  that  price  would  be  a 
humiliation  intolerable  for  a  great  country  like  ours  to 
endure.' 

"This  pronouncement  was,  I  am  told,  received  with 
amazement  by  the  German  public.  But  amazement  was 
quickly  succeeded  by  rage — rage  that  they  had  been  de- 
ceived by  their  Government,  and  rage  that  their  Govern- 
ment should  have  laid  themselves  open  to  such  a  rebuke 
from  a  friendly  Power. 


The  "News  of  the  World"        i37 

"To  appease  the  people,  the  German  ambassador  was  at 
once  instructed  to  demand  a  retraction  from  the  British 
Government,  and  also  the  dismissal  from  office  of  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer. 

"The  information  which  has  reached  us  in  Paris  is  that 
Count  r^letternich,  on  waiting  upon  Sir  Edward  Grey  to 
communicate  the  wishes  of  his  Government,  was  informed 
that  his  request  could  not  be  complied  with. 

"The  speech,  he  was  also  told,  embodied  not  only  the 
views  of  Mr.  Lloyd  George,  but  also  the  considered  view 
of  the  British  Government. 

"The  result  of  the  interview  was  at  once  communicated 
to  Herr  von  Kiderlin  Waechter,  the  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs  in  Berlin,  and  the  more  reasonable  and  pacific 
nature  of  the  '  conversations  '  which  have  since  taken  place 
between  representatives  of  France  and  Germany  may  be 
said  to  date  from  this  period. 

"The  action  of  Germany  will  no  doubt  be  received  with 
incredulity  by  the  English  people,  but  it  has  occasioned  no 
surprise  at  the  Quai  d'Orsay,  where  the  Delcass^  incident 
is  still  fresh  in  the  Ministerial  mind." 

Fiction,  of  course,  is  also  a  "strong  suit,"  and  many 
popular  authors  have  contributed  serials  to  the  paper, 
among  them  being  my  friend  George  Edgar,  well  known 
and  well  liked  in  journalistic  business  circles. 

Other  popular  features  which  must  have  attracted 
thousands  of  readers  are  "Answers  to  Correspondents"  on 
legal,  medical,  and  general  topics,  and  that  fascinating 
and  romantic  "Golden  Column,"  which  gives  particulars  of 
fortunes  awaiting  unknown  owners.  I  eagerly  scan  the 
list  every  Sunday  and  am  still  hoping  ! 

To  show  the  enterprise  of  the  business  departments  of 
the  News  of  the  World,  I  would  point  to  some  important 
innovations  for  which  the  paper  was  responsible.  Sir 
George  Riddel  1  gave  me  an  instance  of  one  which  has  had 
far-reaching  effects  on  the  possibilities  of  printing  huge 


133  The  Street  of  Ink 

circulations  and  incidentally  has  saved  newspaper  pro- 
prietors thousands  of  pounds  every  year. 

"As  you  know,"  he  said,  "in  the  old  days  all  paper  was 
passed  through  a  spraying  machine  in  the  printing  office. 
This  involved  the  unwinding  and  re-winding  of  every  reel, 
which  was  an  enormous  task.  As  our  circulation  grew  and 
as  our  then  premises  were  small  and  incapable  of  extension, 
my  dear  old  friend,  the  late  Lascelles  Carr,  one  of  the 
cleverest  and  most  inventive  men  I  ever  met,  suggested  that 
we  should  abandon  the  spraying  and  print  on  dry  paper. 
With  many  forebodings  on  the  part  of  the  experts  we  took 
the  plunge.  The  example  was  speedily  followed,  and  to-day 
the  whole  of  the  newspapers  print  on  dry  paper.  In  these 
days  of  huge  circulations  it  would,  of  course,  be  impossible 
to  re-wind  the  thousands  of  miles  of  paper  which  are  used 
every  day.  The  News  of  the  World  alone  uses  about  6,000 
miles  of  paper  per  week.  Just  think  of  spraying  and 
re-winding  it !  In  the  old  days  the  English  newspaper  was 
of  the  blankety  and  absorbent  order.  It  did  not  have  the 
skin  of  the  modern  paper,  which  greatly  facilitates  dry 
printing." 

The  News  of  the  World  was  also  the  first  to  introduce 
the  straight-line  press  which  is  now  in  general  use.  "In 
the  old  days,"  Sir  George  said,  "we  were  very  proud  of  our 
new  presses.  To-day  we  have  one  of  the  biggest  and  best- 
equipped  printing  plants  in  the  world.  We  had  the 
honour  of  being  in  at  the  birth  of  the  Daily  Mail  and  the 
Daily  Express,  and  in  both  cases  printed  a  large  part  of 
the  first  issue." 

During  the  war  the  enterprise  of  the  management  has 
been  shown  by  the  publication  of  the  first  Sunday  evening 
edition,  which  must  have  proved  a  very  valuable  advertise- 
ment. This  success  illustrates  the  efficiency  of  the  publish- 
ing department  which  ensures  that  the  News  of  the  World 
shall  be  one  of  the  best  published  papers  in  the  kingdom. 

Since  189 1  the  editor  has  been  Emsley  Carr,  one  of  the 


The  "News  of  the  World"        139 

proprietors  and  a  nephew  of  Lascelles  Carr.  Emsley  Carr 
is  a  courageous  journalist,  with  the  real  flair  for  news.  He 
is  also  a  director  of  the  Western  Mail  and  of  George 
Newnes,  Limited. 

Like  Sir  George  Riddell,  he  is  an  enthusiastic  golfer. 
In  peace  times  he  is  also  keen  on  racing  and  boxing. 
Emsley  Carr  tells  a  good  story  well  worth  recording.  He 
relates  that  the  caller  at  the  office  that  stands  out  most 
prominently  in  his  mind  was  a  very  old  man  who  resembled 
Father  Time  as  closely  as  anyone  he  had  ever  seen.     He 

gave  his  name  as  "Dr.  ,"  and  had  the  air  of  a  man 

who  was  about  to  make  an  unheard-of  request.  His  first 
words  bore  out  that  impression.  "I  am  afraid,"  he  said, 
"that  I  am  about  to  ask  something  impossible  of  fulfilment, 
and  yet  my  necessity  is  great  and  compels  me  to  make  it." 
He  then  explained  that  his  daughter  had  been  reading  a 
serial  in  the  News  of  the  World  and  by  some  strange  freak 
of  imagination  had  linked  her  life  up  with  that  of  the 
heroine.  He  gathered  that  some  misfortune  had  happened 
to  the  hero  which  had  had  a  serious  effect  upon  the  heroine, 
who  took  to  her  bed.  The  latest  instalm'ent  showed  that 
her  life  was  despaired  of,  and,  the  visitor  made  the  ex- 
traordinary statement  that  his  daughter,  who  was  not  a 
strong  girl,  had  also  taken  to  her  bed,  and  that  her 
life  was  hanging  by  a  thread.  "I  give  you  my  profes- 
sional word,"  he  explained,  with  emotion,  "that  if  in  your 
coming  issue  the  heroine  dies,  my  daughter  will  die  too. 
I  want  this  heroine  to  live  so  that  my  daughter  may  have 
as  bright  and  happy  a  future  as  any  heroine  ever  had." 
Emsley  Carr  tersely  summarised  the  result  of  the  interview 
by  saying  :  "The  lady  is  now  the  happy  mother  of  a  large 
family." 

Edgar  Fifoot,  the  business  manager,  and  also  one  of  the 
proprietors,  has  been  in  the  newspaper  business  for  about 
forty  years.  He  started  young  in  the  offices  of  the  Western 
Mail,  and  joined  the  News  of  the  World  in  1893.    F^ew  men 


140  The  Street  of  Ink 

know  the  newspaper  trade  as  well  as  Fifoot,  who  has  the 
proud  distinction  of  being  the  father  of  Captain  Fifoot,  one 
of  the  winners  of  the  D.S.O.  Captain  Fifoot  himself  is 
in  the  service  of  Messrs.  Lloyd,  the  paper-makers.  Un- 
fortunately he  lost  the  sight  of  one  of  his  eyes  in  fighting 
for  his  country. 

R.  Power  Berrey,  the  assistant  editor,  has  been  with 
the  News  of  the  World  for  about  twenty  years.  He  is  a 
good-looking  Irishman  with  a  graphic  pen,  and  the 
author  of  several  books  for  boys  which  have  attained 
wide  popularity. 

No  account  of  the  News  of  the  World  would  be  complete 
without  a  reference  to  Mr.  Crafter,  manager  of  the 
mechanical  department,  who  has  printed  millions  of  papers 
week  after  week  without  a  hitch.  He  is  an  inventor 
of  no  mean  order,  and  has  devised  several  useful 
mechanical  appliances  in  connection  with  the  printing 
trade. 

The  paper  with  the  largest  circulation  in  the  world  is 
produced  in  an  unpretentious-looking  building  which  gives 
no  indication  that  it  is  the  home  of  a  publication  with  a 
three-million  circulation.  It,  however,  covers  something 
like  half  an  acre  in  Bouverie  Street  and  Whitefriars  Street, 
the  streets  which  probably  produce  more  papers  than  any 
thoroughfare  in  the  world;  for  here  are  to  be  found  the 
offices  of  the  News  of  the  World,  the  Daily  News,  the 
Star,  the  Daily  Chronicle,  Lloyd's,  the  Daily  Mirror,  and 
the  Sunday  Pictorial,  not  to  forget  dear  old  Punch.  It  has 
been  estimated  that  in  peace  time  sixty  thousand  miles  of 
paper  pass  every  week  through  the  Bouverie  Street  and 
Whitefriars  Street  presses.  Can  any  other  streets  equal 
this? 

"Well,  good-bye.  News  of  the  World,"  I  said,  as  I 
picked  up  my  hat.  "But  before  I  go,  tell  me,  what  is  your 
trade-mark?"  Sir  George  smiled.  He  said,  "To  mis- 
quote Robespierre,  '  News  of  the  people,  for  the  people.'  " 


The  "Weekly  Dispatch"  141 

THE    "WEEKLY   DISPATCH" 

The  Weekly  Dispatch,  from  a  descriptive  point  of 
view,  suffers  from  two  handicaps.  Its  identity  is,  to  a 
large  extent,  swallowed  up  in  the  multifarious  activities  of 
Carmelite  House,  and  up  to  about  two  years  ago  it 
suffered  from  a  succession  of  vicissitudes. 

The  editor  is  Hannen  Swaffer,  who  is  known  in  the 
office  as  "The  Poet."  He  is  a  familiar  figure  in  the  Street 
of  Ink,  and  more  stories  are  told  of  him  than  of  almost  any 
other  journalist.  I  can  add  to  these  from  my  own  experi- 
ence. Meeting  him  early  in  the  year,  he  placed  his  hand 
in  his  breast  pocket,  and  as  he  was  rummaging  for  some- 
thing there,  said  that  owing  to  the  war  it  was  not  good 
form  to  give  presents,  but,  all  the  same,  he  would  like  me  to 
accept  something  from  him  as  a  token  of  regard.  He  then 
pulled  out  a  very  curious  slip  proof  which  had  sets  of  three 
lines  of  very  diminutive  type  zig-zagging  all  over  it. 
Tearing  off  one  of  these  sets,  he  handed  it  to  me  with  the 
air  of  a  man  bestowing  a  priceless  jewel,  and  I  read  the 
words : 

HANNEN    SWAFFER 

WISHES    YOU 

A   HAPPY    I917. 

This  was  real  paper  economy  !  Soon  afterwards  I  had 
a  letter  from  him  written  on  copy  paper  in  blue-black  ink, 
and  headed  at  the  top  in  blue  pencil,  "From  II.  S.  to 
H.  S." 

He  has  the  distinction  of  writing  one  of  the  most 
curious  "hands"  that  I  have  come  across.  If  you  see  a 
piece  of  copy  which  seems  to  have  been  produced  at  break- 
neck speed  by  a  writer  who  apparently  desired  to  show 
that  he  found  even  that  monotonous  and  wished  to  impart 
variety  by  introducing  capital  letters  in  the  middle  of  words 
and  elsewhere  where  they  didn't  belong,  you  will  be  fairly 
right  in  assuming  that  it  is  Swaffer's.     He  succeeded  the 


142  The  Street  of  Ink 

late  Captain  M.  F.  Cotton,  who  relinquished  the  editorial 
chair  in  order  to  join  the  Army.  Rather  a  melancholy 
coincidence  linked  him  up  with  the  paper  in  the  end.  One 
day,  during  a  spell  of  leave,  he  visited  the  office  and  had 
a  chat  with  Swaffer  and  another  man.  They  were  jokingly 
discussing  the  relative  importance  which  would  be  given 
to  their  respective  obituaries  by  the  Weekly  Dispatch. 
Swaffer  told  Cotton  that  he,  of  course,  would  be  "worth" 
a  notice  on  the  front  page  illustrated  with  his  photograph. 
Shortly  after  he  returned  to  the  front  he  was  killed  in 
action,  and  his  obituary  and  photograph  appeared  on  the 
front  page  of  the  following  number. 

I  asked  Swaffer  my  favourite  question  as  to  how  he  be- 
came a  journalist.  He  told  me  that  as  a  youngster  he  lived 
on  Clapham  Common,  next  door  to  a  family  that  was 
apparently  wealthy,  since  the  father  and  mother  and 
their  child  all  had  beautifully-plated  bicycles.  He  was 
consumed  with  a  burning  ambition  to  possess  one  for  him- 
self, and  made  inquiries  to  find  out  who  and  what  the 
wealthy  neighbour  was.  He  found  that  he  was  a  jour- 
nalist, and  forthwith  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  be 
one,  too.  The  neighbour,  by  the  way,  w-as  then  the  editor 
of  the  Football  Evening  News,  and  is  now  on  Swaffer's 
staff  on  the  Weekly  Dispatch. 

Hannen  Swaffer  has  been  an  "ink-slinger"  for  twenty 
years,  and  thirteen  of  the  last  fourteen  he  has  spent  in 
one  capacity  or  another  under  Lord  Northcliffe.  He 
was  in  turn,  news  editor,  art  editor,  night  editor,  and 
assistant  editor  of  the  Daily  Mirror,  and  during  the  odd 
year  he  was  art  editor  of  the  Daily  Sketch.  There,  I 
believe,  he  originated  the  "Mr.  Gossip"  feature  which,  as 
he  prophesied  at  the  time,  would  be  extensively  copied  by 
rival  publications. 

He  told  me  that  the  Weekly  Dispatch  has  several 
new  contributors  every  week,  because  the  policy  is  to 
make  a  live  paper  of  it  by  securing  contributions  on  topical 


The  "Weekly  Dispatch"  i43 

subjects  by  the  best  authorities.  The  celebrated  "Smith- 
Dorrien  "  controversy  on  the  modern  places  of  entertain- 
ment gained  the  paper  considerable  publicity. 

Naturally,  it  is  strong  on  news  and  the  usual  features 
which  tend  to  make  a  popular  Sunday  paper  successful. 
Very  considerable  enterprise  was  shown,  for  instance,  in 
giving  the  first  story  of  the  battle  of  Neuve  Chapelle. 
War  correspondents  were,  as  usual,  under  strict  censor- 
ship, and  to  counter  the  difficulty  a  new  and  effective  way 
of  doing  w-ar  correspondence  was  invented.  It  w-as  de- 
lightfully simple,  though  somewhat  arduous,  as  it  con- 
sisted of  interviewing  scores  of  wounded  men  and  piecing 
together  a  connected  narrative  from  their  various  stories. 
The  same  method  was  employed  in  connection  with  the 
Battle  of  Loos,  and  again  after  Hill  60.  In  both  cases  the 
Weekly  Dispatch  was  able  to  print  the  first  stories  of  the 
battles,  and  in  each  instance  the  report  ran  to  seven 
columns  in  length. 

These  stories  were  written  by  Bernard  Falk,  one  of 
the  most  prolific  writers  for  the  Weekly  Dispatch.  It  is 
commonly  known  in  the  Street  of  Ink  that  he  was  formerly 
news  editor  of  the  Evening  News,  after  w-hich  he  helped  to 
start  the  Week-end,  an  ambitious  literary  venture,  which 
started  off  with  articles  by  Mr.  Lloyd  George  and  Mr. 
Walter  Long.  While  the  Week-end  w-as  still  being  pub- 
lished he  helped  to  found  the  Evening  Times,  which,  how- 
ever, was  discontinued  after  eighteen  months.  After- 
wards he  became  acting  editor  of  Reynolds's,  and  later 
political  correspondent  of  the  North  Star,  Darlington. 
This  is  not  a  complete  summary  of  his  activities, 
but  it  justifies  my  description  of  him  as  a  rolling 
stone  who  has  gathered  moss.  vSwaffer,  with  his  in- 
imitable gift  of  phrase,  summed  Falk  up  to  me  as  "A 
young  Manchester  man  who  has  turned  a  space-writer's 
desk  into  a  sort  of  Ministry  of  Munitions,  who  is  able  to 
ivritc  anything  to  order,  from  a  sporting  paragraph  to  a 


144  The  Street  of  Ink 

history  of  the  war,  and  who,  if  he  is  called  up,  will  be  an 
armed  '  liner.'  " 

The  assistant  editor  of  the  Weekly  Dispatch  is 
William  Caird,  brother  of  Andrew  Caird.  J.  J.  Brebner 
is  responsible  for  the  sports  page,  James  Waters  is 
the  dramatic  critic,  and  the  very  interesting  book  notes 
are  contributed  by  John  C.  Austin,  who  produces  the 
Overseas  Mail.  A  very  popular  feature  of  the  Weekly 
Dispatch  is  "Secret  History  of  the  Week,"  which  has 
been  started  since  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  and  is  one 
of  the  most  piquant  weekly  paper  features. 

There  is  plenty  of  "go"  in  the  Weekly  Dispatch  in  the 
one  hundred  and  sixteenth  year  of  its  existence,  and  the 
enterprise  shown  in  the  editorial  and  business  departments 
has  resulted  in  an  increased  popularity  which,  as  shown 
by  the  circulation  figures,  is  greater  now  than  at  any  time 
in  its  history. 

THE   "REFEREE." 

It  may  be  said  that  the  popularity  of  the  Referee 
is  to  some  extent  due  to  the  fact  that  it  does  not  com- 
pete with  the  average  Sunday  paper.  It  is,  as  the 
proprietors  claim,  "a  unique  Sunday  journal,"  and  it  has 
remained  so  despite  the  war. 

It  is  not  generally  remembered  that  the  parent  paper 
of  the  Referee  was  the  old  Weekly  Dispatch.  In  1877, 
when  the  Referee  started,  sporting  journalism,  in  the  words 
of  Richard  Butler,  the  present  editor,  "was  a  curious 
product.  The  men  with  expert  knowledge  were  mostly 
unable  to  write  about  sport,  while  the  men  M'ho  could  write 
attractively  did  not  know  enough  to  inspire  the  confidence 
of  readers  with  practical  experience." 

There   was,    however,    a   man    possessing   the   double 
qualification  in  the  person  of  Henry  Sampson,  whose  con- 
tributions  to    the    Weekly    Dispatch   over   the    signature 
"Pendragon"  made  him  a  power  in  the  world  of  sport. 
A  New  Note  in  Journalism. — Early  in  1877  the  D/s- 


I\ 


The  "Referee"  i45 

patch  became  the  property  of  Mr.  Ashton  Dilke,  who  for 
a  time  edited  the  paper  and  highly  appreciated  the  quahty 
of  his  contributor  "Pendragon."  Mr.  Sampson  had  long 
desired  to  start  a  Sunday  newspaper  devoted  to  sport  and 
the  drama.  He  submitted  his  scheme  to  ^Ir.  Dilke, 
who  at  once  realised  its  possibilities.  The  project  was 
indeed  a  very  sound  one.  Dilke  had  already  a  well- 
equipped  newspaper  office,  with  what  was  then  considered 
"the  last  word"  in  up-to-date  machinery,  and  all  neces- 
sary facilities  for  distribution.  Sampson,  on  his  part, 
had  not  only  executive  and  organising  ability,  but  a 
great  public  following.  So  the  bargain  was  struck,  a  part- 
nership was  arranged,  and  the  first  number  of  the  Referee, 
edited  by  "  Pendragon,"  was  issued  from  the  offices  of  the 
Weekly  Dispatch,  then  printed  in  Wine  Office  G^urt, 
Fleet  Street,  on  Sunday,  August  19,  1877. 

When  Dilke  died  in  1883,  Sampson  acquired  his  share 
and  thus  became  the  sole  proprietor  of  the  paper. 

With  "Pendragon"  as  the  editor's  pseudonym  it  was 
appropriate  that  the  other  signatures  should  conform  to  the 
Arthurian  legend.  In  the  early  days  of  the  Referee  there 
were  but  three  of  these  Knights  of  the  Round  Table — 
"Carados,"  who  was  responsible  for  the  "Dramatic 
Gossip,"  "Boris,"  who  wrote  the  Turf  Notes,  and  "Dago- 
net" — the  King's  Jester — whose  three  columns  of  "Mustard 
and  Cress"  written  by  George  R.  Sims  were  destined 
to  achieve  world-wide  fame. 

Changes  and  Progress. — The  connection  with  the 
Weekly  Dispatch  lasted,  on  and  off,  up  to  the  time  when 
the  Dispatch  was  acquired  by  the  Harmsworths  and  the 
offices  were  removed  to  Carmelite  House.  Up  to  1894  the 
initial  arrangements  were  continued,  but  when  the  Referee 
was  enlarged  at  that  time  it  became  necessary  to  acquire 
additional  facilities  for  printing.  It  was  accordingly 
moved  to  the  office  of  the  Morning  (then  edited  by 
J.    F.    Nisbet,    whose    name    is    prominently    associated 

K 


146  The  Street  of  Ink 

with  the  Referee)  in  St.  Bride  Street.  Later,  when  Sir 
George  Newnes  acquired  the  Weekly  Dispatch  and  it  was 
being  printed  at  his  offices  in  Tudor  Street,  the  Referee 
again  renewed  its  old  connection,  and  though  the  Weekly 
Dispatch  moved  with  a  changed  proprietary,  the  Referee 
has  remained  in  the  same  offices  ever  since. 

Henry  Sampson  made  it  his  business  to  surround  him- 
self with  a  brilliant  staff.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  recognise 
ability  and  take  advantage  of  it.  The  origination  of  the 
famous  "Handbook"  shows  this.  In  the  spring  of  1886, 
he  took  a  "  Round  the  World  "  trip,  and  was  away  for  six 
months  or  so,  during  which  time  the  "Sporting  Notions" 
was  taken  over  by  Martin  Cobbett.  According  to  Mr. 
Butler,  who  had  sole  charge  of  the  paper,  Cobbett 
was  a  notable  personality,  and  perhaps  the  best  all- 
round  writer  on  sport  that  the  Referee  ever  had.  While  on 
his  travels,  Sampson  contributed  a  series  of  "Letters 
from  Pendragon,"  which  were  very  popular,  and  on  his 
return,  finding  Martin  Cobbett's  work  had  been  so  highly 
appreciated,  he  wisely  decided  that  he  should  continue  the 
"Sporting  Notions,"  while  he  himself  inaugurated  "Pen- 
dragon's"  "Handbook"  in  order  that  he  might  have  an 
outlet  for  the  expression  of  his  views  on  things  in  general. 
The  feature  was  a  great  success  and  soon  gained  for  him 
a  wider  public.  After  Sampson's  death  the  "Handbook" 
was  written  for  many  years  by  J.  F.  Nisbet,  then  dramatic 
critic  of  The  Times,  who  found  in  the  Referee  full  scope  for 
his  philosophical  reflections,  as  did  his  successor,  David 
Christie  Murray,  who  signed  the  "Handbook  "  "Merlin." 

Christie  Murray  died  in  August,  1907,  and  Arnold 
White  (the  present  "Vanoc")  became  the  "Handbooker." 
Richard  Butler,  who  was  managing  sub-editor  (a  unique 
position  even  for  a  unique  paper)  until  Sampson's  death 
in  May,  1891,  then  became  editor,  and  has  controlled  the 
Referee  with  conspicuous  success  ever  since. 

Some  Well  Known  Contributors. — About  the  tirpe 


The  "Referee"  i47 

when  Christie  Murray  joined  the  staff  other  signatures 
were  introduced,  and  naturally  enough  they  all  took  colour 
from  the  romance  of  the  British  King.  Martin  Cobbett 
adopted  the  pseudonym  of  "Geraint,"  and  when  he  died 
in  1906  his  successor,  Alfred  E.  T.  Watson,  who  still 
writes  the  "Sporting  Notions,"  took  the  signature  of 
"Gareth." 

"Carados"  became  a  multiple  personality.  The  original 
"Carados"  was  George  Spencer  Edwards,  at  that  time 
the  principal  contributor  to  the  Era,  and  obviously  a  man 
peculiarly  suitable  for  the  dramatic  notes.  He  retired  in 
igog  and  died  in  August,  1916,  in  his  eightieth  year.  Mr. 
Butler  himself  soon  became  associated  with  Edwards,  and 
so  did  H.  Chance  Newton,  who  is  still  a  valued  member 
of  the  staff  and  enjoys  the  reputation  of  being  one 
of  the  most  popular  theatrical  journalists  of  the  day.  For 
many  years  Edward  A.  Morton,  who  also  wrote  over 
the  signature  of  "Mordred,"  was  among  those  who  assisted 
in  the  "Carados"  article,  but  three  or  four  years  ago  he 
had  a  nervous  breakdown,  which  unfortunately  has  pre- 
vented him  from  working  since.  Sydney  F.  Brookfield 
was  another  partner  in  the  "Carados"  combine,  in  addi- 
tion to  which  he  contributed  regularly  to  the  Referee  as 
"  Pellinore."  He  joined  the  Army  early  in  the  war,  and 
after  a  brief  but  brilliant  career  was  killed  in  action  in 
France  last  September.  His  place  in  the  "Carados" 
partnership  was  filled  by  S.  R.  Littlewood,  who  also  writes 
over  the  signature  "Agravaine." 

When  the  late  H.  F.  Frost  contributed  the  musical 
criticisms  these  were  included  in  the  "Carados"  dramatic 
and  musical  gossip,  but  they  were  subsequently  given  the 
dignity  of  a  separate  heading,  "Matters  Musical,"  which 
F.  Gilbert  Webb,  who  is  one  of  the  ablest  critics  of  the 
day,  contributed  over  the  pseudonym  of  "Lancelot."  The 
first  Paris  article  was  contributed  by  the  late  E.  Pugh, 
who  wrote  as  "Galahad,"  and  when  he  died  his  place  was 


148  The  Street  of  Ink 

taken  by  John  N.  Raphael  ("Percival"),  whose  dehghtful 
"Gossip  from  the  Gay  City"  was  a  popular  feature  until 
his  recent  death. 

"Tristram"  hides  the  personality  of  Bernard  Marks, 
who  has  been  on  the  staff  of  the  Referee  for  many 
years,  and  is  responsible  for  most  of  the  "Variety  Stage" 
articles.  Many  able  men  have  written  Turf  Notes  over  the 
signature  "Boris,"  but  there  has  been  only  one  "Hand- 
booker"  at  a  time  and  one  "Dagonet"  for  all  the  time. 
"Dagonet"  needs  no  introduction.  As  a  journalist  and 
dramatist  George  R.  Sims  is  perhaps  one  of  the  best- 
known  men  in  England,  and  his  weekly  page,  con- 
tributed uninterruptedly  since  the  beginning,  has  un- 
doubtedly proved  a  source  of  strength  to  the  Referee. 
I  have  not  missed  "Mustard  and  Cress  "  for  many  years — 
my  one  regret  being  that  I  can  only  get  it  on  Sundays. 

A  list  of  names  and  pseudonyms  is  a  dull  thing,  but 
the  names  I  have  mentioned  represent,  as  all  journalists 
know,  a  galaxy  of  talent.  Every  feature  is  bright  as 
well  as  authoritative,  and  interesting  to  boot.  In  no 
other  way  could  a  paper  which  is  rather  a  commentary  than 
a  newspaper  justify  its  existence  and  provide  a  record  of 
unbroken  success.  One  feels  in  reading  the  Referee  that 
a  dinner  party  composed  of  its  contributors  would  indeed 
be  an  intellectual  feast.  When  a  paper  creates  that  im- 
pression it  may  safely  be  set  down  as  being  on  the  right 
road. 

THE   "PEOPLE" 

Samuel  Smiles,  if  he  were  now  writing  "Self-Help," 
would  find  a  splendid  example  in  the  career  of  Mr.  W.  T. 
Madge,  of  the  People,  who  I  think  may  be  described  as 
the  doyen  of  the  Press.  He  told  me  that  he  started  life  at 
the  bottom  rung  of  the  ladder,  as  soon  after  the  Western 
Morning  News  was  founded  in  Plymouth  he  obtained  a 
position  as  junior  clerk  in  the  office.  For  a  year  or  two 
he  was  in  the  commercial  office  (a  most  excellent  training 


The  "People"  i49 

ground,  by  the  way),  where  his  quickness  at  figures  soon 
earned  him  promotion.  He  gained  experience  in  the  read- 
ing-room and  in  the  publishing  office  before  being 
promoted  to  the  reporting  staff,  and  I  think  the  first  of  his 
many  personal  "scoops"  was  the  one  he  achieved  when  he 
attended  an  execution  at  Bodmin  and  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Calcraft  the  executioner,  with  the  result  that  his 
senior  interviewed  that  official  on  behalf  of  the  Western 
Morning  News.  On  the  Western  Morning  News,  by  the 
way,  he  was  a  predecessor  of  Mr.  J.  M.  Le  Sage, 
of  the  Daily  Telegraph.  In  1863  his  proprietors  sent 
him  to  act  as  assistant  publisher  of  the  Western  Daily 
Express,  of  Exeter,  but  the  paper  was  discontinued  and  he 
returned  to  Plymouth. 

Now  events  were  to  shape  themselves  and  provide  the 
necessary  opportunities  for  his  future  success.  The 
Ply7no^lth  Mail  was  acquired  by  Messrs.  Saunders  and 
Spender,  the  then  proprietors  of  the  Western  Morning 
News,  and  young  Madge  was  transferred  to  the  former 
paper.  About  this  time  a  movement  was  inaugurated  by 
the  Conservative  Party  in  Plymouth  to  start  a  paper  to 
represent  their  views.  The  project  fell  through,  but  Mr. 
Charles  Wescomb,  the  proprietor  of  the  Exeter  Gazette, 
who  was  one  of  those  concerned,  soon  afterwards  acquired 
the  Globe,  then  a  Liberal  organ,  on  behalf  of  the  party 
leaders,  and  through  him  Mr.  Madge  came  to  London  in 
August,  1866,  to  become  advertisement  clerk  in  the  office 
of  the  transformed  Conservative  organ,  the  imprint  of 
which  was  to  bear  his  name  as  publisher  twelve  months 
later.  Thus  he  started  a  connection  which  was  to  extend 
over  forty-seven  years.  The  price  at  that  time  was  4d., 
which  was  subsequently  reduced  to  2d.,  and  then  to  id., 
and  Mr.  Madge  was  enabled  to  use  his  journalistic  gifts 
from  the  outset,  as  he  used  to  write  the  contents  sheet. 
He  has  mastered  every  department  of  a  newspaper,  and 
has  always  been  quick  to  appreciate  new  ideas. 


150 


The  Street  of  Ink 


When  you  go  into  his  office  you  find  yourself  in  an 
atmosphere  of  Conservatism,  for  the  walls  are  decorated 
with  portraits  of  leading  Conservative  statesmen,  with 
many  of  whom  he  was  on  terms  of  intimacy.  No 
journalist  ever  gave  a  party  more  unselfish  and  whole- 
hearted support.  In  return  he  received  the  confidence  of 
his  political  friends  and  formed  many  intimacies,  one  that 
pleased  him  most  being  his  friendship  with  the  late  W.  H. 
Smith. 

The  Inception  of  the  "People." — It  was  W.  T. 
Madge's  connection  with  the  Conservative  Party  on  the 
Globe  that  led  him,  with  the  late  Sir  George  Armstrong, 

to  start  the  People. 
There  was  no  popular 
weekly       paper       like 


D^igawii 


Lloyd's  to  voice  the 
interests  of  Conserva- 
tism, and  they  de- 
termined to  remedy  the 
deficiency.  So  the 
People  was  started  in 
October,  1881,  at  no 
Strand,  the  Globe  hav- 
ing just  before  moved 
to  the  opposite  side, 
with  new  premises  and 
plant.  The  Peo^/e  also, 
by  reason  of  its  growth, 

Orlgmal  Contents   Bill  of   the    "People"      had  to  mOve  into  larger 

(its  present)  premises, 
and  install  new  and  greatly  increased  plant.  The  first 
contents  bill  (here  reproduced)  is  an  interesting  reflec- 
tion of  the  first  number.  As  I  told  Mr.  Madge,  it  is 
a  moot  point  whether  the  newer  form  of  bill  featuring 
one  item  is  an  improvement.  He  agreed  with  me, 
and   expressed    his    opinion    that   the    advantage   of    the 


CtUnXT    [DITIOI       SSESAT.  OCT  K   I  COCTftT    DtHOl 

MSTOFWMl 

Ttlua  wUtt  tB  M  His  Denusdir   90ter  badesU  Heetmg  oTtbe  UafWL 
Mr  Kitt  ienomdtg  cbc  faTwgaat     Fbekt  U  f  aris  *(  Laad  Lu^ocrt. 

HR.  eLADSTOlS  01  THE  MREST: 
^     IMPORTANT    SPEEGE 

POUnCAIi— Speecbes  of  L«rd  Salislniry  ud  Sir 

S.  Nortbcotc  at  Nncciutie.    FTr.  GlailstOBC  and 

tie  Fair  I'rad*  Irtijw. 

TnB«»-B!rtr:{WtijiiA%kiBKU»    Flijtt  rf  4;«Hlu  hto  P«ni«. 
JefctttttteFnMbaTimi.  Tml  ofSjiltu -I!iift«««,  Celanyi  n  Ciflnis, 

THE  TRAHSFMLs-mt  GUIK^EE^ 
DETSRUNATIQI. 

•Bmtud  hr  rraai  h  mnk  <f  i  fitter  Itauitbb  8(«t   taasm 
trtfttb^aj     till  ■  licoa^  Ticnalhn    ffiddku  Smuk 

TBASIC  CSOraSENCE.      TRAEIST  IN  WALES. 

iKiulit  Katmr,     T<rrill«  I«fc  rf  U,  Sai.    HkU  t  luti  «».-ai>:i. 

STKISE   OF   ESUnSS   Of   THE   N0ETH. 

«nailllliai3:   AKjnmj.  uHi(he*i<«.     tfoUtlAttt^ 
»m  Tniea    Ai  lew  TWm    bmek  tmUnL 


The  "People"  i5i 

latter  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  can  be  read  while  a  motor- 
car is  dashing  through  the  street.  On  the  other  hand,  a 
detailed  bill  often  tempts  a  buyer  in  a  newsagent's  shop 
to  purchase  the  paper,  in  addition  to  the  one  he  takes  in 
regularly,  on  account  of  some  item  on  the  bill,  and  thus 
tends  to  create  a  new  subscriber. 

For  six  years  the  People  had  an  uphill  fight.  Its  first 
great  success  came  in  1888.  Mr.  Madge  was  in  the  office 
at  2  o'clock  one  Sunday  morning,  while  the  paper  was  at 
press,  when  a  man  came  in  and  said,  "Guv'nor,  there's 
been  a  murder  in  Whitechapel."  He  at  once  had  the 
machines  stopped  and  proceeded  in  a  cab  to  the  East  End. 
As  usual,  little  information  was  obtainable  from  the  police, 
but  he  managed  to  find  the  house,  and  saw  into  the  room  in 
which  the  body  of  the  woman  victim  of  Jack  the  Ripper 
was  lying.  He  then  found  that  there  had  been  a  second 
"Ripper"  murder  the  same  night,  and  also  discovered  the 
house,  which  was  about  eight  minutes'  walk  away.  Re- 
turning to  the  office  at  5  a.m.  he  wrote  his  account,  with 
the  result  that  early  in  the  morning  every  number  of  the 
People  that  had  been  printed  was  sold  out.  The  stock 
of  paper  was  exhausted,  and  Mr.  Madge  took  a  most 
unique  step — went  to  the  residence  of  the  general  manager 
of  one  of  the  big  trunk  lines,  had  that  gentleman  fetched 
out  of  church,  and  obtained  from  him  an  order  to  get 
deliveries  of  reels  stored  in  the  trucks  on  the  sidings  at  the 
railway  station  which  otherwise  would  not  have  reached  the 
office  until  the  following  w-eek.  This  enabled  him  to  con- 
tinue printing  until  late  in  the  evening,  so  that  a  record 
sale  was  obtained.  After  that  the  paper  forged  steadily 
ahead,  and  became  the  successful  property  which  it  is  to- 
day. Another  personal  "scoop"  of  which  he  is  proud  was 
the  confession  of  the  Tichborne  claimant,  which  he 
obtained  for  the  People. 

Enterprise  on  the  editorial  side  was  amplified  by  equal 
enterprise  in  the  business  department.     In  those  early  days 


152  The  Street  of  Ink 

the  sales  of  the  popular  Sunday  papers  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  so  Mr.  Madge  tells  me,  were  confined  in  the 
main  to  towns  not  far  distant  from  London.  He  saw  the 
possibilities  which  presented  themselves,  and  eventually, 
after  some  negotiations,  the  Great  Western  Railway  Com- 
pany ran  the  midnight  service  to  Penzance,  and  similar 
trains  on  other  lines  to  the  Midlands  and  the  North  were 
taken  advantage  of. 

In  this  way  he  was  responsible  for  the  wide  distribu- 
tion and  the  increased  circulation  which  most  popular 
papers  enjoy  to-day. 

Features  of  the  "People." — Much  attention  has 
always  been  paid  to  sport.  In  its  early  days  the  back  page 
was  devoted  to  "Sports  of  the  People,"  and  no  one  will 
deny  that  for  many  years  one  of  the  most  popular  features 
of  the  Sunday  papers  was  Joseph  Hatton's  "Cigarette 
Papers."  Good  fiction  is  another  "strong  card,"  and  I 
believe  that  the  People  was  the  first  London  Sunday  paper 
to  publish  a  serial  by  a  popular  author  when  it  printed  "I 
Say  No,"  by  Wilkie  Collins. 

The  People  is  owned  by  a  family  limited  company,  of 
which  Mr.  Madge  is  the  managing  director,  but  in  the 
"Street  of  Ink"  Madge  and  the  People  are  synonymous 
terms.  He  is  the  actual  editor  and  director  of  policy  him- 
self, although  he  gives  much  credit  to  J.  Samsome,  his 
righthand  man,  and  E.  J.  Moyle,  the  news  editor,  and 
under  his  wise  and  energetic  guidance  the  paper  still  main- 
tains its  great  hold  upon  a  solid  and  prosperous  class.  No 
man  has  gained  more  recognition  for  services  rendered 
than  he,  and  judging  by  his  w^ork  and  the  many  presenta- 
tions he  has  received,  this  appears  to  have  been  thoroughly 
well  deserved. 

"  REYNOLDS'S  " 
Reynolds's   Newspaper  was  born  ten  years  after  the 
News   of  the    World.      Its    first    editor   w^as   G.    W.    M. 
Reynolds,  who  came  of  a  highly  aristocratic  stock,  being 


"Reynolds's  Newspaper"  i53 

the  son  of  an  old  Tory,  Admiral  Reynolds.  He  was,  how- 
ever, a  man  with  democratic  leanings,  and  enthusiastically 
adopted  the  policy  of  the  promotion  of  the  new  venture 
which  was  to  provide  a  newspaper  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  the  masses  at  a  time  when  other  papers  catered  for  the 
favoured  classes.  That  policy,  as  is  pretty  well  known,  has 
been  steadily  maintained. 

A  sort  of  manifesto  announcing  the  publication 
of  Reynolds' s  Newspaper  voiced  the  policy,  and  cor>- 
cluded  : 

"Under  these  circumstances  Mr.  G.  W.  M.  Reynolds 
has  resolved  to  issue  a  weekly  newspaper  which  will  be  de- 
voted to  the  cause  of  freedom  and  in  the  interests  of  the 
enslaved  masses.  In  its  political  sentiment  it  will  be  thor- 
oughly democratic ;  while  as  an  organ  of  general 
intelligence  it  will  yield  to  none  in  the  copiousness 
of  its  news,  the  interests  of  its  miscellaneous  matter, 
and  the  variety  of  its  information.  It  will,  there- 
fore, prove  not  only  a  staunch,  fearless,  and  uncom- 
promising friend  of  popular  principles,  but  likewise 
a  complete  and  faithful  chronicle  of  all  domestic,  foreign, 
and  colonial  events  of  interest  or  value.  Arranga*- 
ments  have  been  made  with  some  of  the  most  eminent 
democratic  writers  of  the  day  to  ensure  their  assistance  in 
the  columns  of  Reynolds' s  Weekly  Newspaper,  and  the 
services  of  able  correspondents  have  been  obtained  in 
Dublin,  Paris,  Madrid,  Berlin,  Vienna,  Turin,  Rome, 
Athens,  Constantinople,  New  York,  etc.  The  acquaint- 
ance of  Mr.  Reynolds  with  the  principal  foreign  patriots 
now  dwelling  as  temporary  refugees  in  the  British  metro- 
polis will  likewise  enable  him  to  afford  his  readers  the  best 
and  most  accurate  views  of  the  progress  of  events  upon  the 
Continent  of  Europe,  and  one  of  the  leading  features  of  his 
journal  will  be  the  weekly  exposure  and  refutation  of  the 
diabolical  falsehoods  and  wilful  misstatements  so  shame- 
lessly   published    by    several    London    daily    newspapers 


154  The  Street  of  Ink 

relative  to  the  progress  of  democracy  and  the  characters 
of  the  leading  democrats  in  foreign  climes. 

"The  price  of  fourpence  has  been  fixed  upon  as  the  one 
best  calculated  to  ensure  a  fair  trial  for  the  new  venture ;  so 
that  there  may  be  an  adequate  margin  for  conducting  the 
journal  with  the  utmost  liberality,  and  leaving  a  proper 
remuneration  for  the  labour  and  time  devoted  by  Mr. 
Reynolds  to  the  undertaking.  But,  while  he  promises 
to  diminish  this  price  should  circumstances  eventually 
permit,  he  distinctly  and  emphatically  pledges  himself 
on  no  account  to  augment  it.  An  amount  of  circulation 
surpassing  his  hopes  at  the  outset,  or  the  removal  of  the 
oppressive  taxes  upon  knowledge,  will  prompt  the  former 
course ;  but  he  would  rather  carry  on  the  enterprise  at  a 
considerable  pecuniary  loss  weekly  than  have  recourse  to 
the  latter  expedient." 

It  seemed  to  be  the  fashion  to  promise  not  to  increase 
the  prices  of  newspapers  in  those  days  !  And  it  may  be 
remarked  that  it  was  certainly  a  bold  policy  to  fix  the 
price  of  fourpence  for  the  working  man's  weekly  news- 
paper. 

The  price  was  reduced  to  one  penny  in  1864,  following 
the  abolition  of  the  stamp  duty,  the  advertisement  duty, 
and  the  paper  duty.  Mr.  Reynolds  died  in  1879,  but  he 
had  had  the  satisfaction  of  w^atching  the  paper  grow.  In 
point  of  fact,  the  circulation  reached  the  figure  of  350,000 
weekly  in  1870.  He  was  succeeded  as  editor  by  his 
brother,  Edward  Reynolds,  who  died  in  1894,  when 
W.  M.  Thompson  became  editor.  He  was  a  distinguished 
journalist  and  was  also  a  well-known  barrister,  and  having 
acted  as  counsel  for  most  of  the  Trade  Unions  of  the 
metropolis,  possessed  unique  qualifications  for  the  post  in 
view  of  his  democratic  sympathies. 

About  that  period  revolutionary  changes  were  being 
made  in  the  printing  and  publishing  of  newspapers. 
Reynolds's  did  not   move  with   the  times,   and  the  pro- 


"Reynolds's  Newspaper"  i55 

prietors  decided  on  changes  in  tlie  management.  Their 
choice  fell  on  Henry  Dalziel  (now  Sir  Henry  Dalziel, 
M.P.),  Avho  besides  being  one  of  the  rising  lights 
of  the  Radical  Democratic  Party  in  Parliament  was  a 
journalist  with  a  thorough  knowledge  of  newspaper  pro- 
duction. The  change  was  certainly  necessary.  To  give 
an  example,  twenty-one  years  ago  all  the  type-setting  was 
done  by  hand,  and  Reynolds's  was  the  last  of  the  great 
London  weeklies  to  abandon  the  method,  the  feeling  of  the 
proprietors  being  against  what  they  considered  the  hard- 
ship which  follows  the  introduction  of  machinery. 

Reynolds's  has  had  many  distinguished  men  on  the 
staff  or  as  contributors.  The  list  includes  "T.  P.," 
Spencer  Leigh  Hughes,  J.  Morrison  Davidson,  who  died 
recently,  and  Labour  leaders  like  George  Howell.  Sir 
Henry  Dalziel,  however,  was  not  content  to  appeal  to 
Labour  alone,  as  one  can  see  from  the  principal  features 
of  the  p>aper,  which  include  in  normal  times  the  famous 
column  "Secret  History,"  w'hich  must  have  made  many 
readers,  a  serial  story,  a  Pension  Bureau,  Health  Talks 
by  an  eminent  doctor,  a  Women's  Home  Page,  the  words 
and  music  of  a  popular  song.  Missing  Relatives  and 
Friends,  Correspondence  and  Answers  on  Legal,  Medical, 
and  General  Subjects,  a  sporting  letter,  cartoons,  and,  of 
course,  very  exhaustive  news  and  comments  on  political 
affairs. 

Like  most  papers  which  are  tersely  described  as  "not 
everybody's  meat,"  Reynolds's  has  a  very  loyal  set  of 
readers;  indeed,  letters  are  often  received  from  the  sons  of 
former  readers  saying  what  pleasure  their  parents  had  in 
reading  "good  old  Reynolds's."  Another  pleasing 
feature  about  the  organisation  is  the  length  of  service  of 
many  of  the  men  employed.  In  the  composing-room  alone 
are  to  be  found  men  of  fifty-five,  fifty,  forty-five,  and  a 
dozen  over  thirty  years'  service,  grandfather,  father,  and 
son  in  some  instances  having  worked  for  the  firm. 


156  The  Street  of  Ink 

Both  editorial  and  business  departments  are  conducted 
with  spirit  and  enterprise.  Reynolds's  was,  I  am  told,  the 
first  to  announce  the  serious  illness  of  the  late  King 
Edward  and  the  possible  postponement  of  his  coronation 
— a  week  in  advance  of  its  contemporaries.  Philanthropy, 
of  course,  receives  practical  support. 

As  regards  the  business  side,  Reynolds's  has  a  con- 
siderable circulation  in  the  Colonies  through  the  medium 
of  special  Australian,  Canadian,  and  South  African 
editions. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Sunday  Eve7iing  Tele- 
gram is  issued  from  the  office  of  Reynolds's.  The  first 
words  in  a  title  corner  panel  of  the  initial  number  directed 
attention  to  an  article  by  Sir  Edward  Carson  which  the 
paper  featured — truly  a  sign  of  the  times  ! 

"LLOYD'S   NEWS,"  THE   "SUNDAY   PICTORIAL"  AND 
THE  "SUNDAY   HERALD" 

I  have  already  written  in  detail  about  Lloyd's 
News,  in  connection  with  the  Daily  Chronicle,  about 
the  Sunday  Pictorial,  in  the  chapter  dealing  with  the 
Daily  Mirror,  and  included  the  Sunday  Herald  with 
Messrs.  Hulton's  other  activities.  Those  chapters 
would  otherwise  have  been  incomplete  and  discon- 
nected, but  for  a  similar  reason  the  papers  in  question 
must  be  mentioned  here. 

The  Sunday  papers  certainly  hold  their  own  as  regards 
enterprise  and  initiative,  and  the  success  is  all  the  more 
notable  in  view  of  the  difficulties  they  have  had  to  sur- 
mount which  do  not  confront  their  daily  contemporaries. 
As  some  compensation  their  enterprise  seems  to  provide 
greater  scope.  The  most  popular  dailies  have  not  yet 
attained  to  the  same  heights  in  their  sales  as  the  most 
popular  Sunday  newspapers,  although  one  never  knows 
what  will  happen  in  the  future  ! 


CHAPTER   XV 

THE  NEWS  AGENCIES 

REUTER'S 

There  is  no  more  romantic  chapter  in  the  history  of  the 
"Street  of  Ink  "  than  that  which  treats  of  the  great  news 
agencies,  and  in  no  department  of  journalistic  activity  is 
the  result  of  enterprise  and  imagination  better  shown. 
Even  this  brief  and  necessarily  incomplete  summary  will 
make  these  facts  perfectly  clear.  It  would  be  impossible 
to  cite  a  better  proof  of  this  than  the  rise  of  the  world- 
famous  Reuter  Agency. 

Early  History  of  Reuter's. — The  history  of  the  early 
days  of  the  Agency  is  incomplete,  but  through  the  kindness 
of  Mr.  Roderick  Jones,  who  occupies  the  late  Baron  Her- 
bert de  Reuter's  chair,  I  am  enabled  to  give  some  of  the 
most  interesting  facts  which  are  known.  The  founder 
was  a  young  bank  clerk,  later  to  become  Baron  Julius  de 
Reuter.  He  conceived  the  idea  of  anticipating  the  news 
which  was  conveyed  by  means  of  mail  coaches,  and  of 
supplying  an  accelerated  service  of  information  concerning 
the  daily  changes  in  the  financial  markets  to  those  who 
cared  to  subscribe  for  it,  realising  that  numbers  of 
people  would  be  only  too  glad  to  have  such  news,  so  that 
they  could  buy  and  sell  with  advance  information  in  their 
possession. 

There  were  no  cables  or  telegraphs  in  those  days,  and 
Mr.  Reuter  purchased  a  number  of  carrier  pigeons  in  order 
to  establish  communication  between  Brussels  and  Aix  la 
Chapel le,  where  he  made  his  start.  The  system  was  ex- 
tended to  other  centres  as  the  scheme  developed.     When 

157 


158  The  Street  of  Ink 

the  local  bourses  were  closed,  the  latest  prices  of  bonds, 
stocks  and  shares  in  which  the  two  markets  dealt  were 
rapidly  copied  on  to  thin  sheets  of  tissue  paper.  These 
were  placed  in  silken  bags,  which  were  then  attached 
to  the  necks  of  the  pigeons,  and  the  birds,  being 
thrown  into  the  air,  made  for  their  own  dovecotes.  The 
bags  were  at  once  opened,  and  the  news  was  copied  out 
and  distributed  to  the  subscribers,  who  received  it  some 
hours  in  advance  of  the  arrival  of  the  mail.  Mrs.  Renter 
used  to  help  her  husband  in  the  work  of  writing  out  the 
quotations. 

When  the  telegraph  was  being  brought  into  practical 
use,  Mr.  Reuter  at  once  supplemented  his  pigeon  service 
with  the  new  invention,  using  the  telegraph  where  possible, 
and  linking  up  spaces  between  the  telegraphs  with  the 
pigeons  and  relays  of  horses.  Throughout  his  career  he 
displayed  similar  enterprise  and  capacity  for  organisation 
which  later  caused  The  Times  to  describe  him  as  the  "most 
intelligent"  man  of  his  day.  Ere  long  every  capital  of 
the  Continent  was  directly  connected,  and  soon  after  the 
first  cable  between  Calais  and  Dover  was  laid  Mr.  Reuter 
became  a  naturalised  British  subject,  and  transferred  his 
head  office  to  London,  which  has  been  the  headquarters 
of  the  service  ever  since. 

The  first  office  consisted  of  two  rooms  only,  and  was 
at  No.  I  Royal  Exchange  Buildings,  to  secure  close 
proximity  to  the  Stock  Exchange.  In  the  course  of  time 
the  members  came  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  Renter's 
"latest  prices"  were  essential  to  their  success,  but  much 
hard  work  and  many  anxieties  were  encountered  before  the 
London  business  was  put  on  a  prosperous  basis.  Baron  de 
Reuter  used  to  tell  a  story  of  those  early  days  which  is 
worth  repeating  because  it  is  authentic,  and  because  it  has 
sometimes  been  applied  to  another  city  magnate. 

An  Enterprising  Junior.— "I  had  just  made  a  start 
in  London,"  he  said,  "and  had  gone  to  eat  a  modest  chop 


Reuter's  Agency  i59 

in  Finch  Lane — and  I  can  assure  you  that  at  times  I  hesi- 
tated to  spend  the  money — when  my  Httle  office  boy,  who 
had  been  told  where  to  find  me,  rushed  in  breathlessly  to 
say  that  a  gentleman  had  called  to  see  me — '  a  foreign- 
looking  gentleman,'  he  added.  '  Why  did  you  let  him  go  ?  * 
I  exclaimed,  '  I  would  have  come  round  at  once  to  see  him.' 
'  Please,  sir,  I  didn't,'  was  the  reply.  '  He  is  still  at  the 
office.  I've  locked  him  in  !  '  And  so  one  of  Reuter's 
earliest  and  most  prized  subscribers  was  successfully 
secured." 

That  office  boy,  whose  name  was  F.  J.  Griffiths,  subse- 
quently became  secretary,  and  later  a  director  of  the 
company. 

Gradually  the  service  was  extended  geographically  and 
internally.  News  of  Exchange  and  Bourse  prices  was 
amplified  by  information  about  commercial  commodities. 
Long  before  there  was  cable  communication  with  India 
and  the  Far  East  these  particulars  were  mailed  by  agents 
to  Suez  and  thence  wired  to  London.  As  the  organisation 
grew  so  did  the  possibilities  of  further  expansion  present 
themselves,  and  about  1S57  Mr.  Renter,  having  to  utilise 
the  services  of  his  agents  for  collecting  and  transmitting 
news  of  interest  to  the  general  public,  made  his  historic 
overtures  to  Mr.  Walter,  the  proprietor  of  The  Times. 
The  first  proposal  was  promptly  declined,  and  a  second 
met  with  the  same  disappointing  result.  LInabashed,  Mr. 
Renter  matured  his  plans,  and  in  1858  made  a  concrete 
proposition  that  The  Times  should  receive  his  dailv  service 
of  news  for  one  month  free  of  charge  on  condition  that  they 
should  acknowledge  the  source  of  origin,  whilst  Reuter's 
should  be  at  liberty  to  supply  the  service  to  other  pro- 
prietors also.  This  time  the  offer  was  accepted,  but  for  a 
while  no  special  item  of  news  was  forthcoming  to  prove  the 
value  of  the  system.  The  opportunity  at  last  presented 
itself,  and  Mr.  Renter  made  his  first  grand  "scoop." 

An  Eari.v  FN"ri:RPRi«;K. — Tbo  ml'itjons  between  Austria 


i6o  The  Street  of  Ink 

and  France  were  becoming  increasingly  strained,  and  in 
February,  1859,  the  Emperor  Napoleon's  speech  at  the 
opening  of  the  Legislature  was  awaited  with  keen  interest, 
as  it  was  believed  that  he  would  announce  his  policy  in 
relation  to  the  dispute.  Mr.  Reuter  made  the  unusual 
request  to  the  authorities  for  an  early  copy  of  the  speech 
for  transmission  to  London.  This  w^as  granted  on  con- 
dition that  the  sealed  envelope  containing  it  should  not  be 
opened  until  the  Emperor  started  his  speech.  Arrange- 
ments were  then  made  with  the  cable  company  for 
dispatching  the  news,  and  the  cable  was  practically  placed 
at  IMr.  Renter's  exclusive  disposal  for  one  hour.  When  the 
Emperor  began  to  speak  at  noon  a  signal  from  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies  intimated  that  the  sealed  cover  could  be  broken, 
and  by  i  p.m.  the  third  edition  of  The  Times  was  on  sale 
in  the  City  with  a  full  report  of  the  speech,  with  the  result 
that  Renter's  name  was  made. 

In  connection  with  the  campaign  which  followed, 
Renter's  had  special  correspondents  with  the  French, 
Austrian,  and  Sardinian  armies,  and  on  one  occasion  was 
actually  able  to  furnish  the  Press  with  three  accounts  of 
the  same  battle  from  the  three  armies. 

As  time  went  on  the  organisation  was  steadily  strength- 
ened and  enlarged.  New  agencies  were  arranged  and 
contracts  were  entered  into  for  reciprocal  services  with 
similar  associations  like  the  Havas  Agency  of  Paris. 
When  the  American  Civil  War  broke  out  in  America  in 
1861  Renter's  had  efficient  representatives  on  the  spot  to 
deal  with  any  call  which  might  be  made  on  its  energies, 
and  was  consequently  enabled  to  strengthen  its  prestige. 

Cable  there  was  none,  and  the  news  from  America  w'as 
sent  by  the  mail  steamers  and  telegraphed  to  Renter's 
London  office  from  Roches  Point,  County  Cork.  Later  a 
rival  concern  entered  into  competition  as  regards  the 
supply  of  American  news.  Mr.  Reuter  squashed  it  with 
characteristic  enterprise.     He  had  the  dispatches  from  his 


Renter's  Agency  i6i 

agent  in  New  York  enclosed  in  an  hermetically-sealed  tin 
box  on  which  a  little  flag  was  hoisted.  He  had  purchased 
a  small  steamer  which  met  the  liner,  and  the  box  was 
thrown  overboard  by  the  purser,  and,  detected  by  its  flag, 
was  recovered  by  Reuter's  boat.  It  was  then  conveyed  to 
Crookhaven,  where  Reuter's  had  secretly  erected  a  private 
telegraph  wire,  and  by  these  means  eight  hours  were 
gained,  which  put  competition  hopelessly  out  of  the 
running. 

Another  Great  Exclusive. — It  is  worth  recording  that 
the  pacific  answer  to  the  British  ultimatum  for  the  release 
of  the  two  Southern  Commissioners  who  were  seized  on 
board  a  British  vessel  and  taken  back  to  American  soil 
was  first  conveyed  to  Lord  Palmerston  by  Mr.  Renter  on 
a  Sunday  morning  immediately  after  he  had  received  it  by 
wire  from  the  Irish  coast. 

The  representative  of  the  Agency,  who,  by  a  fine  stroke 
of  enterprise,  pursued  in  a  hired  tug  and  caught  an  out- 
going steamer,  which  had  left  New  York  for  Ireland,  and 
threw  on  board  a  tin  case  containing  the  news  that  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  had  been  assassinated,  used  to  tell,  in  after 
years,  with  a  certain  satisfaction,  how  Baron  Renter  hailed 
him  when  he  came  back  many  months  later  to  London 
with  the  words,  **  Here  comes  the  murderer  of  Lincoln." 
With  this  momentous  news  of  the  tragic  death  of  the 
illustrious  President,  Renter  was  for  a  week  ahead  of 
anyone. 

These  are  typical  instances  of  the  vision  and  resolution 
which  have  built  up  the  business  of  to-day. 

If  it  required  genius  to  create  Reuter's,  no  less  capacity 
was  required  to  develop  and  control  the  vast  organisation 
that  sprang  from  the  pigeon  post.  Reuter's  would  not  be 
the  worldwide  power  which  it  undoubtedly  is  to-day  if  it 
were  not  for  the  indomitable  energy  and  business  gifts  of 
the  late  Baron  Herbert  de  Renter,  the  founder's  son,  and 
his  assistants.    He  may  be  said  to  live  to-day  in  the  spirits 


162  The  Street  of  Ink 

of  those  who  worked  with  him  and  were  trained  by  him. 
I  asked  Mr.  F.  W.  Dickinson,  the  distinguished  chief 
editor,  and  the  present  doyen  of  the  Agency,  to  tell  me 
one  or  two  personal  recollections  of  his  late  chief.  He 
spoke  of  him  in  the  way  that  a  son  would  speak  of  a 
father  of  whom  he  thought  all  the  world.  To  those  whom 
he  knew  he  was  kindness  personified,  and  if  he  could  be 
stern  on  occasion  when  sternness  was  demanded,  it  was 
not  because  it  was  natural  to  him,  but  because  it  had 
become  a  necessity  of  the  moment. 

An  Interesting  Admirable  Crichton. — The  busi- 
ness was  in  his  hands  completely,  and  was  controlled  by 
him  down  to  the  last  detail.  Mr.  Dickinson  says  that 
all  who  knew  him  well  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was 
the  best-informed  and  best-read  man  of  their  acquaint- 
ance. His  memory  was  astonishing.  "  If,"  Mr.  Dickin- 
son said,  "a  visitor  came  to  see  him  from,  let  us  say, 
Mongolia,  in  the  course  of  conversation  with  the  Baron  he 
would  inevitably  learn  some  fact  about  Mongolia  of  which 
he  had  previously  been  ignorant,  despite  the  fact  that  it 
was  his  native  land."  On  one  occasion,  in  the  course  of 
conversation  with  a  learned  Italian  visitor,  the  latter  quoted 
a  line  from  Dante  which  the  Baron  instantly  completed. 
At  another  time  a  verse  of  Schiller's  was  cited,  and  for 
about  ten  minutes  he  quoted  the  rest  of  the  poem  to  which 
it  belonged. 

Even  in  his  hobbies  he  was  intellectuality  incarnate. 
He  revelled  in  abstruse  mathematical  calculations  which  he 
worked  out  on  large  blocks  of  paper  with  pencils  of 
enormous  length.  Some  hundreds  of  the  latter  were  found 
after  his  death,  but  where  he  had  obtained  them  nobody 
knew. 

So  amazing,  indeed,  was  his  intellectual  equipment,  and 
so  suited  was  it  to  the  task  of  controlling  the  vast  organisa- 
tion, that  the  staff  used  to  wonder  where  a  man  could  be 
found  to  succeed  him.     Some  years  ago  a  young  member 


Reuter's  Agency  163 

of  the  staff  was  sent  to  South  Africa  to  act  as  Reuter's  chief 
there  and  in  Central  Africa  when  problems  of  unusual 
difficulty  had  to  be  solved.  Mr.  Dickinson  told  me  that 
owing  to  the  brilliant  way  in  which  the  work  was  performed 
he  himself  came  to  the  definite  conclusion  that  Roderick 
Jones  was  the  one  man  who  was  qualified  to  assume  Baron 
de  Reuter's  mantle.  "When  you  have  lost  contact  with  a 
man  for  some  time,"  he  said,  "however  well  you  have 
known  him,  you  often  find  when  you  meet  him  again  that 
he  has  developed  unsuspected  qualities.  This,"  he 
added,  "was  the  case  with  the  present  chief  who,  as  every- 
one knows,  actually  succeeded  to  the  founder's  chair,  and 
the  control  of  the  Agency,  on  the  death  of  Baron  Her- 
bert de  Renter  in  191 5.  I  am  a  journalist,"  Mr.  Dickinson 
said  to  me,  "and  if  you  showed  me  a  mass  of  figures  I 
should  scream  I  Roderick  Jones  is  not  only  a  great 
journalist,  he  is  also  a  great  business  man  (which  is  a  most 
unusual  combination),  and  he  knows  every  department  and 
detail  of  the  business  intimately." 

Reuter's  Chief  Editor. — Mr.  Roderick  Jones  has  an 
equally  high  opinion  of  his  chief  editor,  whom  he  described 
to  me  as  "the  pillar  of  Reuter's,"  adding,  "I  can  only 
speak  of  him  in  superlatives."  He  has  been  a  member  of 
Reuter's  for  more  than  forty  years,  and  his  colleagues  both 
in  London  and  all  over  the  world  are  happy  in  the  hope 
that,  as  able,  as  alert,  and  as  widely  judicial  as  ever  he  w-as, 
he  long  will  feel  disposed  to  retain  his  present  responsible 
position. 

When  I  saw  Mr.  Roderick  Jones  on  this  occasion,  he 
had  been  working  until  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  but  at 
ten  o'clock  he  was  again  at  his  desk  in  Old  Jewry  brim- 
ming over  with  vitality.  You  are  conscious  of  his  energy 
at  once.  In  appearance  (especially  about  the  eyes)  he  is 
the  personification  of  keenness,  and  the  moment  he  speaks 
you  become  aware  of  the  intellect  behind  the  words.  One 
look  at  his  desk  showed   me  the  evidence  of  a  mastery 


i64  The  Street  of  Ink 

over  detail  that  I  have  frequently  observed  with  great 
organisers.  Practically  it  was  bare  except  for  the  papers 
representing  his  labours  during  the  night,  and  that  he 
unites  great  tact  to  his  other  qualities  was  shown  by  the 
fact  that  almost  the  only  other  conspicuous  object  was  a 
copy  of  the  Newspaper  World  containing  an  article  of 
my  own. 

As  is  commonly  known,  the  property  was  recently  sold 
for  ;^55o,ooo  to  the  Hon.  Mark  F.  Napier,  who  has  been  a 
director  of  Reuter's  for  over  thirty  years.  Lord  Glenconner, 
Viscount  Peel,  and  Sir  Starr  Jameson,  in  co-operation  with 
Mr.  Roderick  Jones,  who,  although  still  a  young  man, 
has  added  to  the  great  reputation  he  made  as  Reuter's 
chief  in  South  Africa,  since  he  assumed  his  present 
important  office,  and  is  certain  to  gain  still  further 
laurels  as  time  goes  on.  In  S.  Carey  Clements,  the 
manager  and  secretary,  as  in  F.  W.  Dickinson,  he 
possesses  an  admirable  righthand  man.  Mr.  Clements 
has  a  long  record  of  useful  and  advantageous  service 
to  his  credit,  and  as  principal  executive  officer  of  the 
Agency  he  plays  a  highly  important  part  in  its  affairs. 
Next  to  him  I  must  mention  W.  L.  Murray,  secretary 
to  the  managing  director,  and  also  assistant  secretary  of 
the  Agency.  His  vigilance  and  tireless  energy  are  greatly 
prized  by  a  chief  who  knows  the  value  of  these  attributes. 

World-wide  Activities. — The  history  of  Reuter's  is 
written  largely  in  the  columns  of  the  daily  Press.  Those, 
however,  who  read  Reuter's  telegrams  in  the  London  papers 
see  only  a  part  of  the  Agency's  work.  Reuter  is  not  only 
a  receiver  but  a  dispatcher  of  news.  Day  by  day,  from  a 
few  rooms  in  an  old  house  in  the  City  of  London,  goes 
forth  an  unceasing  record  of  the  events  of  the  world,  so 
that  China  is  informed  of  what  is  passing  in  Peru,  and 
Australia  learns  the  events  of  Europe.  Thousands  of 
words  are  telegraphed  everv  twenty-four  hours  from  Lon- 
don to  the  Continents  of  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  America 


The  Press  Association  165 

and  Australia,  and  this  service  is  so  continuous  that  distant 
colonies  can  follow,  for  instance,  all  the  details  of  the 
European  War  as  closely  as  if  they  were  in  London.  The 
traveller  who  leaves  England  is  pursued  as  closely  by 
Reuter's  telegrams  as  by  his  own  shadow.  In  the  heart 
of  Africa,  in  Persia,  on  the  confines  of  India,  and  in  the 
interior  of  China,  Reuter's  daily  telegrams  are  included  in 
the  most  important  reading  of  the  day.  And  the  whole  of 
this  great  fabric,  with  its  ofifices,  general  managers, 
managers,  and  many  hundreds  of  correspondents,  all  over 
the  globe,  has  been  built  up  on  the  small  foundation  laid, 
well  and  truly,  by  Julius  Renter  in  the  middle  of  the  19th 
century. 

It  is  a  wonderful  and  intricate  organism,  a  tremendous 
machine,  performing  colossal  labours,  and  the  power-house 
is  situated  on  the  unencumbered  table  in  the  room  of  its 
young  chief,  whose  personality  is  stamped  upon  every  one 
of  the  myriad  details  that  make  up  the  most  widely  operat- 
ing news  agency  in  the  world.  And  the  Reuter  staff? 
"Don't,  please,  forget  the  staff  !  "  said  Mr.  Roderick  Jones, 
when  I  saw  him.  "No  man  could  have  a  more  loyal  and 
more  zealous  band  of  colleagues,  from  the  highest  to  the 
most  junior,  than  they  !  They  are  a  splendid  lot  of  fellows, 
both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  I  am  grateful  to  them." 

THE   PRESS   ASSOCIATION 

If  any  evidence  were  required  of  the  great  enterprise  of 
the  provincial  Press  and  of  its  importance  (both  of  which 
are  thoroughly  well  recognised  in  the  Street  of  Ink)  one 
would  only  have  to  point  to  the  Press  Association,  which 
was  founded  by  the  owners  of  the  provincial  newspapers  in 
1868,  when  the  British  Government  was  authorised  to 
acquire,  on  behalf  of  the  Post  Office,  the  telegraphs  hitherto 
owned  by  private  companies.  These  had  gathered  Press 
matter  in  addition  to  transmitting  it,  but  the  system  had  to 
cease,  and  the  provincial  newspaper  proprietors  decided  to 


i66  The  Street  of  Ink 

organise  mutually  a  collection  of  news  on  a  more  satis- 
factory and  completer  basis.  The  Association  began  work 
simultaneously  with  the  taking  over  of  the  telegraphs  on 
February  5th,  1870,  and  so  admirable  were  the  arrange- 
ments, and  so  carefully  were  its  developments  fostered, 
that  the  subsequent  record  has  been  one  of  continued 
usefulness  and  success.  The  shares,  as  is  well  known,  are 
held  by  the  provincial  newspapers  alone,  each  member 
being  allotted  only  a  certain  number,  which  varies  accord- 
ing as  the  paper  is  a  morning,  evening,  or  weekly  one. 
The  London  papers  have  always  used  the  P. A.  service 
very  largely,  which  is  a  practical  expression  of  their 
opinion  of  the  facilities  offered  to  them  by  the  provinces. 

A  Great  Organisatiox. — The  management  is  in  the 
hands  of  a  committee,  each  member  of  which  serves  for 
five  years,  one  of  them  retiring  every  year  so  as  to  provide 
the  necessary  "new  blood  "  and  new  vitality.  In  addition, 
there  is  a  consultative  board  of  five  members  (each  of  whom 
has  usually  served  on  the  committee  of  management), 
which  always  meets  the  main  committee  twice  a  year, 
and  oftener  should  the  occasion  arise. 

At  the  beginning  an  agreement  was  entered  into  with 
Renter's  Agency  for  the  monopoly  in  the  United  Kingdom 
outside  the  metropolis  of  that  organisation's  service  of 
foreign  news.  The  special  telegrams  which  are  supplied 
to  the  London  papers  as  "Reuter's  Special  Service" 
appear  in  the  provinces  as  "Press  Association's  War 
Special"  or  "P. A.  Foreign  Special." 

The  institution  is  a  very  excellent  one  indeed,  as  in 
addition  to  a  large  permanent  staff  at  the  Head  Offices,  and 
London  Service  Office,  there  are  special  staffs  for  deaHng 
with  the  Parliamentary  reports,  Law  Courts  reports, 
racing,  cricket,  golf,  football,  and  Stock  Exchange  and 
commercial  news.  In  addition,  the  P. A.  has  over  1,300 
correspondents  of  its  own  throughout  the  United  King- 
dom, to  say  nothing  of  numberless  occasional  contributors. 


The  Press  Association  167 

Some  notion  of  its  business  may  be  gained  from  the 
Agency's  payments  to  the  Post  Office  for  the  transmission 
of  its  news,  which  amount  to  about  ^50,000  annually,  and 
make  the  Association  the  biggest  individual  customer  of 
the  State  in  this  respect. 

The  system  of  collecting  and  dispatching  news  is  very 
complete.  There  are  special  wires  and  a  pneumatic  tube 
to  the  G.P.O.  for  the  reception  and  dispatching  of  tele- 
grams, a  special  wire  from  the  House  of  Commons  to  the 
Head  Office,  and,  of  course,  a  large  number  of  telephones. 

Some  Important  Services. — The  perfection  of  the 
organisation  is  also  shown  by  the  news  services  which  are 
arranged  equally  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  biggest 
papers  or  of  the  smallest  weekly  ones,  and  the  P. A.  also 
undertakes  to  look  after  the  local  interests  of  provincial 
subscribers.  An  important  feature  of  its  work  consists  of 
the  special  verbatim  and  summary  reports  of  the  speeches 
of  public  men,  for  which  the  P. A.  has  deservedly  gained 
a  high  reputation. 

The  enormous  labours  and  far-sighted  enterprise  re- 
quired for  the  building  up  of  this  great  Agency  are  due  to 
the  journalistic  capacity  of  the  successive  committees  of 
management  and  to  the  executive  ability  of  the  managers, 
of  whom  there  have  only  been  two  in  the  history  of  the 
Association.  The  first  of  these  was  a  former  editor  of 
Cassell's  Magazine,  the  late  John  Lovell,  who  resigned 
from  the  P. A.  in  1880  to  become  editor  of  the  Liverpool 
Mercury.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  present  manager, 
Edmund  Robbins,  who  joined  the  staff  as  sub-editor  before 
it  actually  began  operations,  and  who  fourteen  years  later 
had  been  appointed  secretary  and  assistant  manager. 

Well-known  Personality  of  the  "P. A." — Mr.  Rob- 
bins  is  one  of  the  most  familiar  figures  among  British 
journalists,  and  despite  an  active  connection  with  the  pro- 
fession extending  to  nearly  sixty  years,  he  is  still  happily 
able  to  work  as  hard  as  ever,  and  to  plan  for  the  continued 


i68  The  Street  of  Ink 

success  of  the  business  with  the  same  keenness  and  zest  as 
before.  It  is  interesting  to  record  that  as  chief  morning 
sub-editor  it  fell  to  him  to  prepare  the  first  telegram  sent 
out  by  the  P. A.,  which  incidentally  was  the  first  Press 
message  accepted  by  the  British  Government  as  owner  of 
the  telegraphs.  He  possesses  an  intimate  knowledge  of 
newspaper  work,  a  close  acquaintance  with  political  affairs, 
and  is  endowed  with  an  excellent  memory,  to  which  he, 
like  so  many  prominent  men  in  the  Street  of  Ink, 
attributes  much  of  his  success  in  life.  The  chairman  of  the 
P. A.  is  Mr.  Meredith  T.  Whittaker,  of  the  Scarborough 
Evening  News,  a  man  of  broad  outlook,  wide  experience, 
and  keen  business  instincts,  and  an  acknowledged  authority 
where  figures  and  finance  are  concerned.  All  these  quali- 
ties have  been  exhibited  when  acting  for  the  newspapers 
and  Master  Printers'  Federation  in  disputes  and  negotia- 
tions with  the  Typographical  Association. 

THE   CENTRAL    NEWS 

The  Central  News,  hereafter  called  the  C.N.,  as  the 
lawyers  would  say,  was  founded  in  1870  (two  years  later 
than  the  Press  Association)  by  the  late  William  Saunders, 
M.P.,  a  philanthropist,  social  reformer,  and  very  shrewd 
business  man.  When  it  was  turned  into  a  limited  liability 
company  ten  years  afterwards,  one  of  the  first  directors  was 
Bennet  Burleigh,  who  was  the  C.N.'s  first  war  corre- 
spondent, and  at  that  time  had  not  long  been  in  the 
company's  employ.  Two  years  later  Burleigh  left,  having 
been  invited  to  join  the  Daily  Telegraph,  owing  to  the 
brilliant  manner  in  which  he  did  his  work  in  connection 
with  the  first  Egyptian  campaign.  He  beat  everyone  with 
the  news  of  the  Battle  of  Tel-el-Kebir,  and  the  capture  of 
Arabi  Pasha,  and  gave  the  C.N.  a  big  lift  in  reputation. 
Egypt  again  afforded  the  C.N.  one  of  its  biggest  scoops 
when  the  Agency  was  twelve  hours  ahead  of  everybody 
with  the  exclusive  news  of  the  fall  of  Khartoum  and  the 


The  Central  News  169 

death  of  Gordon.  Mr.  John  Gennings,  the  present  general 
manager,  says  it  was  no  accident,  but  was  the  result  of 
plans  most  carefully  made  in  London.  He  tells  me  that 
the  greatest  scoop  made  by  the  C.N.  was  undoubtedly  the 
deathless  story  of  the  South  Polar  adventures  and  heroic 
fate  of  Captain  Scott.  Indeed,  for  its  importance,  intense 
human  interest,  length,  and  the  circumstances  of  obtain- 
ing this  dispatch,  it  remains  one  of  the  greatest  *'ex- 
clusives"  ever  achieved  by  a  news  agency.  It  involved 
the  sending  of  a  special  envoy,  B.  J.  Hodson,  chief  C.N. 
reporter,  to  a  remote  spot  on  the  coast  of  New  Zealand, 
the  cabling  of  many  thousands  of  words,  the  making  of 
difficult  and  complicated  arrangements  for  simultaneous, 
or  as  nearly  simultaneous,  publication  throughout  the 
world  as  geographical  circumstances  permitted,  and  also 
precautions  for  the  prevention  of  "leakage." 

Mr.  Gennings  himself  personally  carried  out  the  nego- 
tiations with  Captain  Scott,  and  the  contract  was  signed, 
sealed  and  delivered  a  considerable  time  before  the  gallant 
officer  left  London  on  what  was  destined  to  be  his  last 
voyage.  Naturally  the  tragic  end  of  the  expedition  and 
the  heroic  leaders  added  considerably  to  the  money  value 
of  the  story,  and  one  result  of  this  was  that  the  C.N.  had 
the  satisfaction  of  paying  nearly  ;^5,ooo  for  it. 

Sometimes,  however,  much  money  may  be  spent  and 
time,  enterprise,  and  energy  devoted  to  the  obtaining  of  an 
exclusive  which  does  not  "come  off."  Mr.  Gennings  gave 
me  one  example  in  which  the  C.N.  suffered  from  real  bad 
luck.  "At  the  time  of  the  Whitechapel  murders,"  he  said, 
"a  couple  of  big  bloodhounds  were  installed  on  the  C.N. 
premises  ready  to  be  put  on  the  track  of  the  maniac 
assassin  upon  the  first  renewal  of  his  crimes.  After 
several  weeks  had  passed  without  anything  happening  it 
was  decided  that  the  murderer  had  gone  out  of  business, 
and  the  dogs  were  sent  back  to  their  kennels  in  the 
country.      Two   nights   later   there   was   another    White- 


170  The  Street  of  Ink 

chapel  murder,  and  no  bloodhounds  to  put  on  the  mis- 
cream's  track." 

Some  C.X.  "Beats." — He  gave  me  another  instance 
where  similar  bad  luck  was  narrowly  avoided.  At  the  time 
of  the  sinking  of  the  battleship  Victoria,  after  collision 
with  the  CamperdoiAjn,  in  the  Mediterranean,  the  London 
correspondent  of  a  big  South  American  newspaper  was 
domiciled  in  the  Central  News  office.  Late  at  night  he 
was  given  the  news  of  the  terrible  disaster  by  a  certain 
Ambassador.  He  took  a  cab  from  the  West  End  to  the 
cable  office  in  the  City,  passing  the  C.N.  office  en  route. 
As  he  drove  through  Ludgate  Circus  he  thought  for  a 
moment  of  stopping  and  giving  the  news  to  his  friends 
of  the  C.N.,  but  on  second  thoughts  decided  that  that 
would  mean  the  loss  of  several  precious  minutes,  "and 
quite  needlessly,  as  the  C.N.  would  be  sure  to  know  all 
about  it."  But  neither  the  C.N.  nor  any  other  news  agency 
or  newspaper  in  London  knew  anything  about  it  until  noon 
the  following  day,  when  it  was  issued  officially  from  the 
Admiralty.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  the  C.N.  even 
then  had  a  "beat"  with  the  news,  but  only  by  the  narrow 
margin  of  a  few  minutes  instead  of  twelve  hours.  Luck 
gave  the  C.N.  another  scoop  in  connection  with  the  same 
sad  occasion  in  the  shape  of  an  exclusive  interview  on  the 
subject  with  Lord  Charles  Beresford.  His  Lordship  hap- 
pened to  be  passing  the  C.N.  office  when  the  newsboys 
were  shouting  out  the  news,  and  he  at  once  walked  in  and 
talked  freely  with  the  editor.  "Charlie's"  heart  was  full, 
and  tears  were  in  his  eyes,  for  his  dearest  friend.  Admiral 
Sir  George  Tryon,  went  down  with  the  Victoria. 

The  C.N.  also  scored  an  exclusive  with  the  first  news  of 
the  suicide  of  Whittaker  Wright  after  a  sensational  trial  at 
the  High  Court  which  lasted  many  days.  It^  will  be  re- 
membered that,  having  been  sentenced,  Wright  was 
removed  to  a  room  adjoining  the  Court  to  await  removal 
to  prison,  and  in  the  very  midst  of  his  guard  managed  to 


The  Central  News  171 

swallow  poison,  which  clearly  had  been  conveyed  to  him 
by  some  friend.  The  evening  papers  were  running  off  a 
special  edition  with  the  finish  of  the  trial  and  sentence 
when  the  C.N.  machines  ticked  out,  long  before  any  other 
source,  ihe  news  of  the  thrilling  denouement. 

How  "ExcLUSivEs"  ARE  OBTAINED. — The  C.N.  also 
was  twelve  hours  ahead  with  the  news  of  the  suicide  of  the 
South  African  millionaire,  Barney  Barnato.  He  jumped 
overboard  from  a  liner  en  route  from  Capetown  to  South- 
ampton, the  ship  called  at  Madeira,  and  there  the  C.N. 
man  got  the  news  and  gave  his  office  a  big  "scoop"  with 
an  urgent  rate  dispatch. 

Mr.  Gennings  very  rightly  lays  emphasis  on  the  fact 
that,  as  far  as  C.N.  experiences  go,  big  "beats,"  of  which 
I  have  only  given  typical  instances  out  of  a  very  consider- 
able number,  are  usually  due  not  to  luck  but  to  foresight 
and  organisation.  For  example,  the  C.N.  has  always  been 
strongly  represented  in  the  City,  and  its  editor  there  enjoys 
a  solid  reputation  in  the  highest  financial  quarters.  One  of 
the  results  has  been  that  the  C.N.  has  been  first  w-ith  prac- 
tically all  the  great  banking  and  commercial  failures  of 
the  past  quarter  of  a  centurj^ 

The  C.N.,  as  every  newspaper  man  knows,  has  always 
done  exceptionallv  well  in  wars.  Apart  from  the  incidents 
of  the  'eighties  already  mentioned,  Fleet  Street  will  recall 
the  Agency's  splendid  work  during  the  South  African 
war,  at  the  very  opening  of  which  it  scored  a  great  "ex- 
clusive" with  the  battle  of  Glencoe.  The  level  thus  set 
was  well  maintained,  and  the  first  news  of  the  signing  of 
peace  at  Vereeniging  was  made  known  in  London  through 
the  C.N.  upon  a  certain  memorable  Sundav  forenoon. 

Modern  Agency  Problems. — The  Great  War  has 
presented  numerous  new  and  difficult  problems  to  news- 
papers, and  more  particularly  to  news  agencies,  apart 
from  the  universal  and  severe  censorship  which  virtually 
prevented  any  newspaper  or  agency  from  scoring  a  scoop 


172  The  Street  of  Ink 

with  a  big  item  of  actual  news,  or  at  any  rate,  made  it 
a  matter  of  pure  luck.  The  "  Wireless  Press,"  otherwise 
Marconi,  secured  daily  scoops  of  a  sort  with  first  publi- 
cation of  various  official  communiques,  when  enjoying 
an  absolute  Government-granted  monopoly  of  wireless 
communications  and  other  privileges  denied  to  other  news 
agencies.  Protests  were,  of  course,  put  on  record,  and  at 
the  time  of  writing  I  hear  that  part  of  the  monopoly  at  any 
rate  is  being  removed.  In  the  early  part  of  the  war  the  best 
work  was  done  by  special  correspondents  with  *' roving 
commissions,"  and  C.N.  men  scored  heavily,  notably 
Alfred  Rorke  in  Northern  France,  and  B.  J.  Hodson  in 
Antwerp.  Both  men  became  officers  at  the  front,  leaving 
newspaperdom  the  poorer  for  their  patriotism,  and 
Rorke  fell  in  action  at  the  beginning  of  1917.  Rorke 
had  the  credit  of  sending  to  the  British  Press  through 
the  C.N.  the  first  real  story  of  British  troops  in  action. 
Its  publication  thrilled  the  country,  and  leading  articles 
were  devoted  to  it.  Nor  will  newspapermen  readily  forget 
the  series  of  excellent  stories  of  the  Battle  of  Jutland  sent 
by  the  Scandinavian  correspondents  of  the  C.N. 

A  comparatively  recent  enterprise  of  the  C.N.  is  its 
Press  Photographic  Department.  The  C.N.  acquired  at 
the  beginning  of  1910  the  business  of  the  small  agency 
known,  and  very  favourably  known,  as  "  Halftones,"  and 
upon  this  modest  foundation  has  been  built  in  the  short 
interval  that  has  elapsed  a  new  business  of  enormous 
proportions  and  world-wide  organisation. 

Developments  Abroad. — The  C.N.  has  from  its 
establishment  in  1870  been  both  a  Home  and  a  Foreign 
News  Agency.  The  latter  branch  has  been  greatly  de- 
veloped during  the  past  ten  years,  and  provides  an 
alternative  service  to  that  of  the  Renter  Agency.  But 
to  obtain  the  best  idea  of  its  quality  and  compre- 
hensiveness one  has  for  some  reason  to  study  the  evening 
newspapers.       It    has    always    been    noted    in    particular 


The  Central  News  i73 

for  its  service  of  American  news;  nor  is  this  surpris- 
ing, because  it  has  from  the  first  maintained  a  British 
staff  in  New  York  and  Washington,  and  its  allied  organ- 
isations embrace  the  New  York  News  Bureau  Association, 
an  exclusively  financial  news  agency,  with  branches  in 
a  dozen  important  cities  in  the  United  States;  the  Stock 
Quotation  Telegraph  Company,  the  biggest  "ticker  "  busi- 
ness in  the  world,  operating  over  two  thousand  automatic 
telegraph  machines  in  New  York  alone;  and  finally  the 
Central  News  of  America,  a  young  and  rapidly  growing 
agency. 

Mr.  Gennings  humorously  observes  that  the  C.N.  is  at 
this  moment  probably  the  only  newspaper  ofTice  that  can 
say  that  it  has  only  one  Scotsman  on  its  staff.  Its  founders 
and  most  of  the  men  prominently  connected  with  it  in  its 
earlier  days  were  West  of  England  men.  Its  present  chief 
was  Sussex-born  and  London-reared.  Many  former  C.N. 
men  are  to  be  found  in  prominent  positions  in  the  news- 
paper world  to-day.  Two  of  them  are  managers  and  one 
editor  of  London  daily  papers,  and  any  number  occupy 
such  positions  as  assistant  editor,  chief  sub-editor,  and 
so  forth. 

The  C.N.  Staff. — A  high  standard  of  ability  and 
efficiency  is  demanded  in  a  modern  news  agency.  A  C.N. 
sub-editor  must  write  and  speak  at  least  two  languages, 
French  and  German,  for  there  are  no  watertight  compart- 
ments in  the  Agency's  sub-editors'  rooms,  each  man  being 
expected  to  deal  with  both  home  and  foreign  news  as  it 
comes  to  hand.  Sub-editors  are  also  required  to  be  ex- 
pert typists,  as  are  also  the  reporters.  Incidentally,  I 
may  mention  that  the  C.N.  was  the  first  office  in 
Fleet  Street  to  use  the  typewriter,  and  the  first  to 
supply  typewritten  stencil  copy  to  the  newspapers  and 
the  Post  Office. 

The  C.N.  in  its  later  years  has  enjoyed  the  character 
of  treating  its  staff  exceptionally  well.     It   is  honourably 


174  The  Street  of  Ink 

known  as  "a  comfortable  office."  Promolion  is  by  selec- 
tion, not  necessarily  by  seniority.  It  has  been  often  re- 
marked in  the  street  that  when  C.N.  men  get  old  they 
are  able  to  retire  into  modest  comfort,  if  not  into  com- 
parative luxury.  Only  a  short  time  ago  two  ex-chairmen, 
one  ex-secretary,  and  one  chief  ex-reporter  were  all  living 
in  happy  retirement.  Ex-chairman  Alfred  Kinnear,  for 
years  one  of  the  best-known  and  most  brilliant  of  Parlia- 
mentary Lobbyists,  and  a  great  war  correspondent  in  his 
day,  enjoyed  his  otiiim  cum  digfiitate  at  Plymouth.  Ex- 
chairman  John  Moore,  w-ho  was  also  manager  for  a  good 
many  years,  took  to  farming  and  pig  breeding  (he  came 
of  West  of  England  yeoman  stock)  in  his  retirement. 
Ex-secretary  John  Lanyon  lives  to-day,  cheery  and  flourish- 
ing, at  Newquay,  whence  he  edits,  ow^ns,  and  produces  one 
of  the  brightest  of  shorthand  magazines,  the  Phono- 
graphic Observer,  and  writes  letters  to  editors  and  states- 
men correcting  their  grammar,  a  matter  on  which  he  is 
an  authority  and  a  purist.  Ex-chief  reporter  Josiah 
Henry  Harris  has  written  a  score  of  novels  since  he  went 
into  retirement  in  a  beautiful  house  on  the  cliff  overlooking 
Mevagissev  Harbour,  awav  in  Cornwall.  There  must 
be  a  good  many  journalists  who  have  revelled  in  his 
"Cornish  Saints  and  Sinners." 

I  hope  that  Mr.  Gennings  will  remain  in  command  of 
the  C.N.  organisation  for  many  years,  but  when  he,  too, 
takes  his  retirement,  may  it  be  equally  happy  ! 

THE   EXCHANGE   TELEGRAPH   COMPANY 

The  Exchange  Telegraph  Company  might  be  de- 
scribed as  a  perpetual  new'spaper.  Where  its  machines 
are  installed  ne\vs  from  all  over  the  world  comes  ticking 
on  the  tape  throughout  the  day,  literally  hot  from  the 
wires.  Personally,  I  never  lose  the  fascinating  sense  of 
expectation  which  those  wonderful  machines  create  as 
one  spells  out  word  after  word.    When  the  news  is  of  an 


The  Exchange  Telegraph  Co.      i75 

important  character  they  seem  like  someone  talking  who 
is  breathless  with  excitement. 

The  Exchange  Telegraph  Company  was  founded  by  Sir 
James  Anderson,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Submarine  Tele- 
graphy, who  was  captain  of  the  Great  Eastern  when  she 
laid  the  first  Atlantic  cables,  and  Mr.  Cyrus  Field,  who 
was  also  associated  with  him.  They  brought  to  Eng- 
land from  America  one  of  the  first  type-printing  tele- 
graph instruments,  which  were  the  invention  of  Edison, 
and  were  already  being  worked  in  New  York  by  the  Gold 
and  Stock  Telegraph  Company  for  sending  out  the  rapidly 
changing  prices  on  the  Stock  Exchange,  and  also  the  prices 
for  gold,  which  at  the  time  fluctuated  considerably  and 
caused  a  great  amount  of  speculation.  At  first  they 
printed  about  six  words  a  minute,  but  now  their  speed  is 
only  limited  by  the  individual  skill  of  the  operator  work- 
ing the  transmitter. 

DisTiNXTivE  Services. — The  company  was  established 
in  1872  for  the  purpose  of  reporting  the  fluctuations  in 
prices  on  the  London  Stock  Exchange,  and  in  1884  took 
up  the  supply  of  general  news,  rapidly  developing  its 
services,  of  which  among  the  best  known  to-day  to  the 
public  are  the  sporting  services  and  the  general  news 
service.  The  former  includes  a  racing  service,  and  a  cricket 
and  football  service,  and  is,  of  course,  especially  popular 
with  clubs.  The  latter  is  explained  by  its  name  and  provides 
news  to  the  extent  of  some  10,000  to  16,000  words  a  day. 
It  is,  of  course,  extremely  valuable  to  the  newspapers. 

These  two  form,  with  the  Stock  Exchange  service,  the 
backbone  of  the  business,  although  there  are  a  number  of 
special  services  which  have  been  organised  by  the  enter- 
prise of  the  management  to  meet  the  needs  of  particular 
classes  of  the  community.    These  I  will  specify  later. 

The  perfect  organisation  of  the  Agency  may  be 
gathered  from  the  arrangements  governing  the  supply  of 
sporting  news.    In  general  it  may  be  said  that  within  one 


176  The  Street  of  Ink 

minute  of  the  finish  of  a  race  the  result  is  flashed  from  the 
course  to  the  London  office,  transmitted  from  there  and 
received  in  all  the  great  centres  throughout  the  country. 
Nothing  but  the  most  complete  arrangements  could 
achieve  such  a  result,  which  is  due  primarily  to  the  efforts 
of  a  couple  of  reporters,  one  on  the  grand  stand  and  the 
other  by  the  winning  post,  who  are  in  communication  with 
each  other.  First  of  all  a  brief  account  of  the  scene  is  sent 
over  the  wire  to  London.  When  the  race  starts  the  re- 
porter on  the  grand  stand  at  once  advises  his  colleague, 
and  the  news  reaches  London  almost  simultaneously  that 
the  horses  are  off.  As  soon  as  the  winner  is  announced 
the  result  is  dispatched  with  equal  rapidity.  A  delay  of 
a  minute  in  receiving  the  report  is  regarded  as  serious  and 
inquiries  are  instituted  to  ascertain  the  reason.  So  exact, 
indeed,  is  the  system  that  the  average  time  occupied  in 
running  a  classic  race  has  been  worked  out  and  by  such 
means  the  work  of  the  Agency's  representatives  is  checked. 
The  system  is  much  the  same  for  reporting  cricket  and 
football  matches.  It  comes  within  the  normal  routine 
to  lay  special  wires  to  the  field  of  play. 

Some  Notable  Achievements. — The  system  is,  of 
course,  invaluable  to  the  evening  newspapers.  In 
normal  times,  for  instance,  it  is  an  ordinary  event 
for  the  crowd  leaving  one  of  the  metropolitan  football 
grounds  to  buy  copies  of  the  Star  containing  the  result  of 
the  match  !  The  news  is  received  before  the  players  have 
left  the  field,  is  printed  on  the  waiting  machines,  and 
rushed  away  to  the  ground  by  swift  motor  vans. 

Equally  perfect  are  the  Agency's  reporting  methods. 
When  Mr.  Winston  Churchill  paid  his  memorable  visit 
to  Belfast,  a  direct  telephone  was  cleared  between  the  city 
and  London  for  the  Exchange  Telegraph  Company,  and 
the  speaker's  words  were  reported  in  the  metropolis  prac- 
tically word  by  word  as  he  uttered  them.  So  we  have 
progressed  from  the  old  system  of  taking  the  speech  down 


Mi.  K.  \i.  H.  1!au(1. 
I.F. 


\',K.  C.   K.  Sims 


XI 


The  Exchange  Telegraph  Co.      ^11 

in  shorthand,  transmitting  the  notes,  telegraphing  the 
report,  and  then  transcribing  it  into  longhand  again. 

The  "  Exchange  "  is  telegraphically  connected  with  the 
Stock  Exchange,  and  is  the  only  Agency  with  reporters 
and  telegraph  clerks  on  the  floor  of  the  House.  Its  service 
of  Stock  Exchange  quotations  is  amplified  by  a  commer- 
cial service  which  supplies  reports  on  the  doings  in  the 
London  markets,  such  as  Billingsgate,  the  Hop  Exchange, 
the  Meat  Market,  and  so  on,  to  say  nothing  of  such  reports 
as  those  concerned  with  Eastern  Exchanges,  American 
produce.  Bankers'  Clearing  House  returns,  bullion  move- 
ments, and  other  matters. 

There  is  also  a  Legal  Service,  which  is  operated 
from  the  Law  Courts,  by  which  the  reporters  telegraph 
their  copy  as  the  case  goes  on;  a  Parliamentary  Service, 
which  is  organised  in  similar  fashion,  and  a  Temporary 
Service,  by  which  any  person  can  receive  news  of  a 
particular  character  either  in  the  United  Kingdom  or 
abroad  in  any  place  where  telegraphic  communication  can 
be  maintained.  The  cost  of  such  a  temporary  service  varies 
from  the  modest  sum  of  twelve  messages  for  one  guinea  ! 
The  rates  charged  for  the  other  services  vary  from  some 
50  guineas  to  150  guineas  a  year. 

The  Organisation. — The  Agency's  most  striking 
"scoop  "  was  probably  the  achievement  of  the  first  cabling 
of  the  stories  of  the  Titanic  survivors  to  Great  Britain.  The 
report  ran  to  3,200  words,  which,  of  course,  involved  a 
large  expense  in  cable  charges,  although  that  was  regarded 
as  trifling  in  view  of  the  results  secured. 

The  reader  will  gather  from  the  foregoing  that  jour- 
nalistic ability  and  organising  power  are  required  in  a 
marked  degree  for  the  conduct  of  a  business  such  as  this. 
Quite  apart  from  the  routine  arrangements  for  obtaining 
news  from  all  over  the  world  by  the  company's  own  repre- 
sentatives, a  highly  qualified  engineering  staff  is  required 
to  maintain  the  efficiency  of  the  instruments  supplied  to 

M 


178  The  Street  of  Ink 

subscribers.  This  branch  is  under  the  supervision  of  E.  G. 
Tillyer,  the  company's  chief  engineer.  The  invaluable 
Annunciator  (the  invention  of  the  company's  late  engineer, 
F.  Higgins)  is  installed  in  various  parts  of  the  House  of 
Commons  to  announce  to  members  the  names  of  the 
various  speakers  and  the  matter  under  discussion.  When 
the  public  reads  in  the  newspapers  that  the  House  filled 
when  a  certain  speaker  rose  to  continue  the  debate,  it  little 
thinks  that  the  rush  of  members  has  been  caused  by  the 
work  of  the  Annunciator. 

The  present  directors  of  the  company  are  Wilfred 
King,  chairman  and  managing  director;  E.  C.  Barker, 
S.  Christopherson,  G.  A.  D.  Goslett,  H.  L.  Hotchkiss, 
and  the  Earl  of  Sandwich.  The  secretary  is  G.  F. 
Hamilton. 

THE  LONDON  NEWS  AGENCY 

One  of  the  charms  of  the  Street  of  Ink  is  that  true 
merit  is  sure  to  be  recognised  and  enterprise  will  bring  its 
own  reward.  An  organisation  that  has  grown  in  a  brief 
time  from  humble  beginnings  entirely  through  the  ability 
of  those  responsible  for  its  conduct  is  the  London  News 
Agency.  It  came  into  existence  about  the  time  that 
I  began  my  own  journalistic  career.  Twenty-one  years 
ago  the  staff  consisted  of  one  reporter  and  one  messenger. 
To-day  it  has  contributed  forty  men  from  all  departments 
to  the  army. 

It  is  largely  due  to  the  L.N. A.  that  "penny-a-lining  " 
is  now  no  longer  a  recognised  profession  in  London. 
Ernest  Ferris,  now,  as  I  have  previously  mentioned,  with 
the  United  Newspapers,  was  the  original  founder,  proprie- 
tor, and  reporter.  At  that  time,  and  for  many  years  after- 
wards, the  Agency  w-as  a  sort  of  multiple  "penny-a-liner." 

The  system  in  vogue  was  to  obtain  the  news  supply 
from  casual  journalists  who  sent  out  their  copy  through 
the  L.N. A.  and  took  a  speculative  reward  of  two-thirds  of 
the  proceeds  on  publication.     Mr.   Winton  Thorpe,   the 


The  London  News  Agency         i79 

present  managing  director,  says  that  it  was  the  change  over 
from  space  work  to  a  contract  system  which  marked  the 
real  growth  of  the  Agency  in  output  and  usefulness. 

A  Good  "Spec." — Ernest  Perris  conducted  the  Agency 
for  two  years  as  a  side-show  to  his  regular  journalistic 
work.  In  1896  Winton  Thorpe  (who  was  associated  with  him 
on  the  Sunday  Times)  became  his  partner  by  buying  a  half- 
share  in  the  goodwill  and  assets  for  the  sum  of  ;^io.  "The 
assets,"  he  says,  "were  a  table,  two  chairs,  and  a  packet  of 
flimsies  housed  in  a  single  room  above  a  ham  and  beef  shop 
at  118  Fleet  Street.     The  stafY  consisted  of  a  messenger." 

The  first  act  of  the  partnership  was  to  remove  to  a  two- 
roomed  attic  in  Falcon  Court,  and  one  salaried  reporter  was 
engaged,  then  another,  and  still  another.  But  it  was  not 
until  1898  that  the  Agency  got  into  its  stride.  It  re- 
moved to  a  three-roomed  office  situated  at  46  Fleet  Street, 
and  carried  out  a  vigorous  campaign  with  a  staff  of 
seven  salaried  reporters.  In  those  days  it  possessed  no 
sub-editors.  The  reporter  was  his  own  sub-editor,  and  in 
not  a  few  instances  his  own  messenger  as  well.  The 
system  of  trading  was,  of  course,  by  linage,  necessarily 
very  fluctuating,  but  with  occasional  good  hauls ;  but  in 
March  of  that  year  the  Agency  secured  its  first  contract 
with  the  Morning,  afterwards  the  Morning  Herald,  which 
it  held  till  the  paper  ceased  publication  in  September,  igoo. 

It  was  not  until  some  years  later  that  linage  was 
abolished  in  favour  of  contracts  all  round.  In  1901  the 
business  was  incorporated  as  a  limited  company,  though 
for  all  practical  purposes  it  remained  the  property  of  the 
two  partners;  and  in  1903  Thorpe  purchased  Perris's 
interest,  and  has  since  continued  in  sole  management. 

Growth  of  the  "L.N, A." — The  old  system  of  linage 
work  necessarily  made  the  Agency  reports  irresponsible, 
and  they  were  mainly  concentrated  on  happenings  which 
were  likely  to  produce  an  abundance  of  copy,  ignoring 
altogether  things  which   savoured  of  dullness.     Ordinary 


iSo  The  Street  of  Ink 

meetings  were  very  rarely  reported,  as  the  newspapers  used 
to  include  them  in  their  own  diary  engagements  of  the 
day.  The  growth  of  the  halfpenny  Press  and  the  changes 
which  have  since  taken  place  led  to  newspapers  utilising 
their  reporting  staffs  on  stories  and  specials  which  give 
character  to  the  paper.  The  London  News  Agency  was 
then  able  to  cover  the  routine  engagements,  which,  of 
course,  was,  and  is,  a  great  advantage  to  the  news  editor. 
Mr.  Thorpe  tells  me  that  the  irresponsibility  of  the  Agency 
in  the  early  days  is  shown  by  an  interesting  entry  in  its 
diary  for  June  21,  1897  •  "Queen's  Jubilee. — Staff  takes  a 
week's  holiday."  He  says  that  the  Agency's  business  in 
life  was  then  to  report  murder  and  sudden  death,  strikes, 
disasters,  and  the  unexpected  happenings  of  the  day,  with 
an  occasional  swoop  on  some  police  court,  coroner's  court, 
or  county  court  which  was  known  to  be  inadequately 
covered,  so  that  with  papers  filled  to  overflowing  with 
Jubilee  matter  its  occupation  for  the  moment  was  gone. 
But  when  King  Edward  was  crowned  in  1902  the  staff  had 
no  holiday,  for  by  that  time  the  L.N. A.  had  come  into  its 
own  and  had  accepted  obligations  under  which  it  was 
covering  daily  practically  every  engagement  of  importance 
in  London ;  and  on  Coronation  Day  it  turned  out  a  ten-  or 
twelve-column  report  of  the  proceedings  from  its  represen- 
tatives in  the  Abbey  and  the  streets,  which  was  freely  used. 

A  New  Photo.  Agency. — The  growth  of  the  pictorial 
papers  led  the  Agency  in  1908  to  start  a  subsidiary  com- 
pany, the  London  News  Agency  Photos.,  Limited,  with 
E.  H.  Wroughton  as  managing  director.  A  further 
enterprise  is  a  department  with  a  separate  staff  known  as 
the  Official  Reporting  Association,  Limited,  which  under- 
takes official  shorthand  writing  and  does  a  good  deal  of 
Government  work. 

Many  well-known  journalists  graduated  with  the 
L.N. A.,  including  Harold  Ashton,  who  was  for  some 
years  my  colleague;  G.  E.  Beer,  the  news  editor  of  The 


The  Imperial  Press  Conference     iSi 

Times  (formerly  news  editor  of  the  L.N. A.);  Charles 
Dawbarn,  who  became  the  very  able  Paris  correspondent 
of  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette  and  the  Observer,  and  afterwards 
a  member  of  the  Paris  staff  of  The  Times ;  and  Anthony 
Ellis,  now  manager  of  the  Criterion  Theatre,  whom,  of 
course,  I  knew  as  dramatic  critic  of  the  Star. 

As  I  write  news  comes  that  Winton  Thorpe  has 
been  appointed  head  of  the  Press  Bureau,  established  by 
Lord  Devonport  in  connection  with  the  Ministry  of  Food 
Department.  It  is  a  great  tribute  to  him  and  to  his  work 
at  the  London  News  Agency. 

THE   IMPERIAL   PRESS   CONFERENCE 

While  I  am  w-riting  about  the  international  activities  of 
the  Press  I  would  like  to  refer  to  the  valuable  work  of  my 
friend  Harry  Brittain. 

He  is  best  known,  of  course,  as  secretary  of  the  British 
section  of  the  Pilgrims,  which  he  founded  with  Lord 
Roberts  and  some  American  friends  in  1902.  The  club, 
as  everybody  allows,  has  done  most  valuable  work  in 
cementing  the  friendly  relations  between  the  British  Em- 
pire and  the  United  States.  He  showed  his  vision  and 
his  organising  capacity  when  he  arranged  the  great  Im- 
perial Press  Conference  of  1909.  The  idea,  he  told  me, 
occurred  to  him  when  he  was  on  a  visit  to  Canada.  He 
discussed  it  with  Lord  Grey  (then  Governor-General),  who 
was  tremendously  enthusiastic  about  it,  and  on  his  return 
to  England  chatted  the  matter  over  with  his  newspaper 
friends,  particularly  Lord  Northcliffe,  the  present  Lord 
Burnham,  Sir  Arthur  Pearson,  Mr.  J.  A.  Spender,  and 
Mr.  Robert  Donald.  All  agreed  that  a  meeting  should 
be  called  of  the  British  Press,  and  this  was  done. 

Brittain  was  asked  to  undertake  the  organisation  of 
the  conference,  and  as  the  result  of  his  enthusiasm  and 
ability  all  difficulties  were  overcome,  and  a  great  number 
of  delegates  representing  newspapers  all  over  the  Empire 


i82  The  Street  of  Ink 

met  in  London.  Apart  from  showing  them  the  "sights," 
including  the  Fleet,  the  Army  at  Aldershot,  and  giving 
them  such  social  pleasures  as  a  visit  to  Chatsworth  and  a 
tour  through  the  chief  industrial  and  educational  centres,  a 
ten-days'  conference  was  held  in  London,  which  had  some 
very  practical  results.  One  of  these  was  the  reduction  of 
the  Press  cable  rates  to  every  part  of  the  Empire  with  the 
exception  of  Canada,  and  another  which  grew  out  of  it  w*as 
the  increase  in  the  home  news  sent  out.  The  head  of  one 
of  the  leading  Press  Agencies  told  Brittain  that  since  the 
days  of  the  Imperial  Press  Conference  practically  50  per 
cent,  more  home  news  was  sent  out  to  the  ends  of  the 
Empire.  As  he  remarked  to  me,  "News  is  the  very  basis 
of  mutual  understanding,  and  the  effect  of  this  spread  over 
the  intervening  years  is  hard  to  overrate."  It  would, 
indeed,  be  hard  to  estimate  how  beneficial  the  Imperial 
Press  Conference  proved  in  the  light  of  subsequent  events 
culminating  in  the  w^ar. 

Brittain  describes  himself  as  "a  non-newspaper  man," 
which  is  not  strictly  true,  though  his  connection  with  the 
Street  of  Ink  has  been  mostly  with  periodical  journalism. 
He  was  for  two  years  private  secretary  to  Sir  William 
Ingram,  and  later  joined  Sir  Arthur  Pearson,  with  whom 
he  worked  in  the  formation  of  the  Tariff  Reform  League. 
He  was  also  on  the  Standard  and  Evening  Standard  for 
a  while  before  he  became  associated  for  a  short  period  with 
the  Sphere  and  Toiler.  Although  he  prefers  to  be  a  free- 
lance in  his  journalistic  work,  I  hope  his  energy,  enter- 
prise, and  vision  w-ill  lead  to  his  making  an  even  stronger 
impression  upon  the  developments  of  the  Press  as  an 
Empire  force  in  the  future.  Brittain  is  a  most  amusing 
and  sparkling  conversationalist,  and  possesses  an  unusual 
amount  of  vitality. 

He  signalised  a  visit  to  the  Western  front  by  pro- 
ducing a  very  successful  book,  "To  Verdun  from  the 
Somme,"  which  he  told  me  he  wrote  in  a  fortnight. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

THE     PROVINCIAL   PRESS 

(CLASSIFIED  IN  ALPHABETICAL  ORDER  OF  TOWNS  FOR 
CONVENIbNCE  OF  REFERENCE) 

In  my  personal  history  of  the  Street  of  Ink  I  have  been 
compelled  to  omit  the  names  of  many  men  and  papers, 
some  of  the  former  deserving  a  place  in  any  record  by 
reason  of  their  eminence,  and  the  majority  of  the  latter 
entitled  to  mention  because  of  their  influence  and  interest, 
however  small  or  restricted  their  sales.  Many  magazines 
and  provincial  dailies,  and  hundreds  of  weekly  provincial 
newspapers  cannot  be  mentioned,  simply  because  nothing 
but  a  large  public  library  and  an  army  of  historians  could 
cope  with  the  task  and  do  it  justice. 

Before  dealing  with  a  few  typical  provincial  news- 
papers, let  me  say  this.  The  reader  of  a  suburban  or 
provincial  newspaper  is  relatively  catered  for  with  the  same 
intelligence,  skill  and  enterprise  as  is  the  reader  of  a 
London  daily.  He  forms  part  of  a  class  over  which  the 
editor  of  his  paper  exercises  a  great  influence.  He  is 
given  something  that  suits  a  particular  need  which  cannot 
be  supplied,  generally  speaking,  by  the  national  daily,  and 
the  paper  which  supplies  this  has  behind  it  many  of  the 
resources  on  which  the  metropolitan  paper  relics.  It  will 
perhaps  increase  his  admiration  for  his  particular  local 
paper  to  know  that  the  big  men  in  journalism  look  upon 
the  smaller  papers  in  the  provinces  with  admiration  none 
the  less  sincere  since  many  of  them  have  graduated  in  the 
same  school.  Taking  such  papers  as  a  whole,  they  repre- 
sent an  enormous  outlay  of  capital,  an  enormous  revenue, 
a  decided  influence  which  is  wisely  exercised,  and  a  sum 

183 


i84  The  Street  of  Ink 

total  of  ability  and  knowledge  that  makes  them  in  every 
way  w^orthy  of  the  Street  of  Ink. 

I  would  like  to  write  fully  about  the  important  pro- 
vincial papers,  but  all  I  can  do  is  to  deal  with  just  a  few 
of  the  many — there  are,  of  course,  scores  of  others — 
from  which  the  reader  will  be  able  to  gather,  I  hope,  a 
picture  of  the  whole.  Some  day  I  may  be  able  to  fill  in 
many  of  the  important  gaps  in  a  further  volume  when  the 
conditions  due  to  the  war  give  place  to  less  strenuous  times, 
and  my  brief  leisure  is  not  taken  up  almost  wholly  by 
business  problems  of  unusual  complexity. 

THE   "ABERDEEN   FREE  PRESS" 

I  am  particularly  grateful  to  the  editor  of  the 
'Aberdeen  Free  Press  for  what  I  may  term  a  little  jour- 
nalistic epic,  showing  the  resourcefulness  of  a  district 
reporter.  The  incident  happened  some  thirty  years  ago 
when  a  serious  wreck  had  occurred  between  Aberdeen  and 
Peterhead,  and  the  reporter,  William  Ogston,  at  the  latter 
place  was  isolated  from  the  head  office  owing  to  the  break- 
down of  the  telegraph  wires.  It  was,  of  course,  long 
before  the  days  of  motors,  and  he  was  at  his  wits'  end 
how  to  get  his  story  to  Aberdeen,  when  it  occurred  to  him 
to  use  the  Northern  cable  which  runs  from  Peterhead  to 
Norway.  Acting  upon  his  idea,  he  sent  his  message  to 
Aberdeen  via  the  Continent,  a  journey  of  nearly  two 
thousand  miles  to  cover  a  direct  distance  of  twenty-six 
miles.  The  present  editor  might  well  be  content  to  point 
to  this  incident  as  representing  the  enterprise  of  the  paper. 

The  Aberdeen  Free  Press  was  founded  as  a  weekly  in 
1853,  and  became  the  first  daily  in  the  North  of  Scotland 
in  1872.  Its  allied  evening  paper,  the  Evening  Gazette, 
was  founded  in  1882.  Its  editors  have  been  successively 
William  McCombie,  the  author  of  several  volumes  of 
essays  of  repute  in  their  day ;  Dr.  William  Alexander, 
the  author  of  "Johnny  Gibb  of  Gushetneuk,"  one  of  the 


The  Provincial  Press  185 

best    specimens    of    Scottish    dialect    and    humour;    his 
brother,   Henry  Alexander;  and  the  latter's  son,   Henry, 
who  is  the  present  editor.     Another  name  closely  associ- 
ated with  the  paper  is  that  of  William  Watt,  the  author  of 
the  county  "History  of  Aberdeen  and  Banff,"  as  well  as 
journalist.    His  son  Edward  W.  Watt,  now  on  the  paper, 
is    at    present    on    military   service,    being    a    lieutenant- 
colonel  in  the  Gordons  (T.F.).     The  publisher  for  many 
years  has  been  Alexander  Marr,  and  the  manager  is  John 
Bruce,  whose  son,  Robert  Bruce,  also  on  the  staff,  is  on 
military  service  as  a  major  in  the  Royal  Engineers  (T.F.). 
Other  names  include  those  of  William  McCombie  Alex- 
ander, a  brother  of  the  editor;   Alexander  MacKilligan, 
leader  writer;  and  T.   P.   Gill,  chief  reporter.      William 
Russell  and  William  Diack  are  the  chief  sub-editors  of  the 
morning   and   evening    papers    respectively.       Alexander 
Mackintosh,   the   London  correspondent,    has   represented 
the  Free  Press  in  the  House  of  Commons  Gallery  for  over 
thirty  years,   and  his  London   Letter  is  a  feature  of  the 
paper.     The  chief  compositor,  John  Lawson,  was  an  ap- 
prentice when  the  paper  started,  and  his  continuous  service 
on  the  staff  ever  since  must  be  a  record  in  newspaper  print- 
ing.     In   addition    to   giving  attention   to  the    important 
fishing  industry  (of  which  Aberdeen  is  the  centre),  in  the 
Free  Press,  the  management  has  started  a  weekly  paper, 
the  Fishing  News,    specially  devoted  to  the   interests  of 
British  fisheries. 

THE   "ABERDEEN  JOURNAL" 

The  Aberdeen  Journal  in  its  weekly  and  in  its  daily 
form  is  now  in  its  one  hundred  and  seventieth  year,  and 
not  only  continues  publication,  but  is  going  very  strong. 
It  makes  a  feature  of  bright  treatment  of  news  and  of 
special  literary  articles,  and  as  regards  local  affairs 
systematically  and  successfully  cultivates  the  exclusive. 
It    obtained    a    very    interesting    scoop    during    a    strike 


i86  The  Street  of  Ink 

of  caddies  in  igi2  when  Mr.  Asquith  was  spending 
the  autumn  near  Lossiemouth  Golf  Links,  over  which 
he  played  daily.  A  member  of  the  staff  donned  caddie 
clothes,  and  during  the  strike  succeeded  in  carrying  the 
Premier's  "sticks."  The  result  was  the  first  and  only  de- 
tailed description  yet  published  of  how  Mr.  Asquith 
plays  and  what  golfing  language  he  uses.  The  account 
was  quoted  in  newspapers  all  over  the  country.  The 
Weekly  Journal  is  likewise  a  very  successful  property. 

The  Aberdeen  Evening  Express,  which  is  owned  by  the 
same  proprietors,  is  one  of  the  most  popular  evening 
papers  in  Scotland,  exercising  considerable  influence  in  the 
municipal  and  social  affairs  of  Aberdeen.  The  Express, 
by  the  way,  issues  a  Sunday  war  edition.  The  editor  of 
the  Journal  and  Express  is  William  Maxwell,  who  began 
his  career  on  the  Scotsynan,  and  after  twelve  years  in  Lon- 
don on  the  St.  James's  Gazette,  the  Poll  Mall  Gazette, 
and  the  Standard,  returned  about  1909  to  his  native 
country.  The  assistant  editor  is  Alexander  Wood,  whose 
knowledge  of  the  genealogy  of  the  county  families 
throughout  the  North  of  Scotland  is  unrivalled.  The 
news  editor  (chief  reporter)  is  A.  Catto,  whose  local 
"scoops"  are  legion.  James  Mcintosh,  who  was  for 
a  time  in  the  Far  East,  is  chief  sub-editor  of  the  Journal, 
and  D.  B.  Ross,  formerly  of  South  Africa  and  of  the 
Scotsman,  is  chief  sub-editor  of  the  Express.  The 
manager,  James  A.  C.  Coutts,  has  been  at  the  business 
helm  of  the  three  papers  since  the  beginning  of  this 
century,  and  to  his  ability  the  papers  owe  very  much  of 
their  present  position  as  dividend-paying  properties. 

THE  "BELFAST  EVENING  TELEGRAPH" 

The  Belfast  Evening  Telegraph  has  the  distinction 
of  being  the  first  halfpenny  paper  established  in  Ireland. 
It  was  first  issued  on  September  i,  1870,  during  the 
Franco-Prussian    war   excitement,    and    the   story    of    its 


The  Provincial  Press  1S7 

origin  from  comparatively  small  beginnings  to  the  attain- 
ment of  the  influence  and  power  which  it  enjoys  to-day  is 
in  effect  the  biography  of  its  moving  spirit,  Mr.  Robert 
H.  H.  Baird,  J. P.,  the  managing  proprietor.  The  paper, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  was  launched  in  three  working  days 
in  order  to  forestall  a  prospective  rival  which  had  been 
announced,  and  notwithstanding  the  difficulties  the 
venture  was  crowned  with  complete  success.  At  one 
time  the  paper  turned  out  twenty-eight  editions  daily, 
although  the  number  has  been  reduced  in  consequence  of 
the  war. 

The  papers  allied  to  the  Belfast  Evening  Telegraph 
are  the  Belfast  Weekly  Telegraph,  Ballymena  Weekly 
Telegraph,  Lame  Times,  Ireland's  Saturday  Night,  and 
the  Irish  Post,  in  addition  to  the  Irish  Daily  Telegraph, 
a  halfpenny  morning  paper  issued  from  the  same  office. 
The  unqualified  success  of  these  papers  is  due  to  Mr. 
Baird's  practical  imagination  and  energy,  aided  by  a  very 
competent  staff.  Mr.  Andrew  W.  Stewart,  the  managing 
editor,  joined  from  the  Northern  Whig  in  1888  as  chief 
leader  writer  and  special  commissioner.  He  has  a  corps 
of  forty  reporters,  who  are  all  keen  in  co-operating  with 
him. 

The  staff  of  leader  writers  includes  Thomas  Moles, 
who  wields  a  virile  pen,  and  besides  dealing  with  the 
political  questions  which  excite  the  Province  of  Ulster, 
has  a  reputation  in  the  realm  of  sport  as  an  authority  on 
athletics,  motoring  and  kindred  topics,  John  Sayers  has 
a  reputation  as  an  expert  in  mercantile  and  shipping 
matters,  and  a  knowledge  of  military  affairs  which  has 
enabled  him  to  deal  promptly  with  honours,  casualties  and 
promotions  in  the  course  of  the  war,  and  A.  W.  Kerr, 
LL.D.,  B.Sc,  who,  so  I  am  informed,  has  a  thorough  grasp 
of  economic  and  social  questions  and  a  close  familiarity 
with  European  history.  J.  A.  Watson  is  well  known 
under  the  pen  name  of  "Flambeau,"  Robert  Sayers  is  a 


i88  The  Street  of  Ink 

competent  descriptive  writer,  and  Patrick  J.  Keenan,  a 
law  court  specialist.  The  sub-editorial  work  is  shared  by 
a  staff  including  Stephen  Williamson,  Charles  Darcus, 
Edwin  McClure,  and  T.  A.  Ross.  E.  R.  Cree  (now  a 
sergeant  in  the  R.I.R.)  was  also  a  member  of  this  staff, 
and  quite  a  number  of  reporters  and  photographers  are 
also  serving  in  the  Army.  The  musical  critic,  W.  B. 
Reynolds  (Rathol),  has  much  more  than  a  local  reputation. 

News  of  the  Churches  has  for  years  been  a  feature  of 
the  paper.  This  department  has  been  entrusted  to  the 
Rev.  Richard  Cole,  a  lifelong  journalist,  and  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Lowe,  who  occupies  the  position  of  clerk  to  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

The  editing  of  Ireland's  Saturday  Night,  a  weekly 
paper  devoted  to  football,  cricket,  and  all  forms  of  sport 
and  amusement,  physical  and  intellectual,  is  under  the  care 
of  Robert  McComb,  who  was  at  one  time  on  the  staff 
of  the  Liverpool  Courier  and  Evening  Express,  and  has  a 
wide  and  varied  experience,  as  well  as  a  pronounced  repu- 
tation as  a  scoop  writer.  One  of  his  most  notable 
achievements  was  an  interview  with  Field-Marshal  Sir 
George  White  on  the  Stranraer  steamer,  when  the 
distinguished  soldier  was  returning  from  Ladysmith. 

THE   "BIRMINGHAM  DAILY   POST" 

The  Birmingham  Daily  Post  has  a  link  with  Fleet 
Street  in  no  less  a  person  than  Dr.  Johnson.  A  bookseller  in 
the  city,  named  Thomas  Warren,  started  the  Birming- 
ham Journal  in  1733  as  a  weekly,  and  Boswell  records 
that  he  obtained  the  assistance  of  Johnson's  pen  to 
furnish  "some  numbers  of  a  political  essay  in  his  news- 
paper." The  Journal  was  discontinued  after  some  seven 
or  eight  years,  but  the  title  was  revived  in  1825  by  Mr. 
William  Hodgetts,  who  was  starting  a  Saturday  Con- 
servative paper.  It  was  bought  in  1843  by  Mr.  John 
Frederick    Feeney,    who    soon    afterwards    invited    Mr. 


The  Provincial  Press  1^9 

Jaffray  (who  subsequently  became  Sir  John  Jaffray,  Bart.) 
to  become  editor,  and  the  association  developed  into  a 
partnership.    They  issued  the  Daily  Post  on  December  4, 

1857. 

Mr.  Jaffray  took  the  utmost  interest  in  the  business  side 

of  the  paper,  and  indeed,  after  a  while  devoted  the  main 
part  of  his  energies  to  it.  The  circulation  steadily  in- 
creased, and  in  view  of  the  success  obtained  it  was  de- 
cided in  1870  to  establish  the  Birmingham  Daily  Mail, 
in  order  to  issue  an  evening-  newspaper  from  the  same 
office. 

Sir  John  Jaffray  retired  in  1894,  and  the  ownership  of 
the  pap>er  passed  to  Mr.  John  Feeney,  his  partner,  and  the 
son  of  its  founder.  Mr.  Charles  Hyde,  his  nephew^, 
became  proprietor  when  Mr.  Feeney  died  in  1905. 

Like  most  of  its  contemporaries,  the  Birmingham  Daily 
Post  realised  the  importance  of  establishing  a  branch  office 
in  London  about  the  time  that  the  Government  took  over 
the  telegraphs,  and  it  played  a  leading  part  in  organis- 
ing the  Press  Association.  Indeed,  Mr.  John  Lovell  was 
originally  on  its  staff,  and  a  further  link  exists  to-day, 
as  Mr.  A.  F.  Robbins,  the  London  correspondent  (one 
of  the  best-known  figures  in  Fleet  Street,  by  the  way),  is 
a  brother  of  Mr.  E.  Robbins,  the  present  manager  of  the 
Press  Association.  Sir  Henry  Lucy  was  for  some  years 
Parliamentary  correspondent. 

THE   "BIRMINGHAM  DAILY   MAIL" 

The  Birmingham  Daily  Mail,  as  mentioned  above,  was 
first  issued  in  1870  in  response  to  the  public  demand  for  the 
latest  news  of  the  Franco-German  War,  in  w'hich  the  people 
of  BFrmingham  took  the  keenest  possible  interest.  Its 
success  was  immediate.  Years  ago  an  old  city  coroner 
christened  it  "the  Birmingham  Bible." 

The  Mail  has  always  been  very  intimately  identified 
with    the   public   life   of   the   municipality   and    its   many 


igo  The  Street  of  Ink 

charitable  enterprises.  Every  year  it  raises  and  ad- 
ministers a  fund  of  ;^3,ooo  to  ;^4,ooo  for  the  benefit  of 
the  poor  children  of  Birmingham,  whom  it  provides  with 
boots  and  clothing,  with  treats  and  entertainments,  with 
Christmas  dinners,  and  with  summer  holidays  in  the 
country.  A  famous  editor  of  the  Mail  was  W.  C.  Sullivan. 
The  editor  since  1907  has  been  Herbert  Frost  Harvey, 
a  Hertford  man,  who  served  on  the  staff  of  the  Birming- 
ham Daily  Post  and  the  Manchester  Dispatch  before 
going  to  the  Birmingham  Daily  Mail  as  assistant  editor 

in  1904. 

THE  "BOLTON  EVENING  NEWS" 

The  Boltoji  Evening  Neivs  claims  to  be  the  first  even- 
ing halfpenny  newspaper  of  its  kind.  It  is  owned  by 
Messrs.  Tillotson,  of  Bolton,  who  also  publish  the  Foot- 
ball Field  and  the  Lancashire  Journal  series  of  seven 
weekly  newspapers.  In  addition,  practically  all  the  lead- 
ing writers  have  written  at  one  time  or  another  for 
Tillotson 's  Newspaper  Syndicate,  which  supplies  stories 
to  subscribers  all  over  the  world.  Robert  Sheppard  is  the 
manager  of  Tillotson 's  Newspaper  Literature  Bureau.  My 
colleague,  G.  G.  Armstrong,  the  editor  of  the  Daily  News 
Northern  Edition,  was  formerly  on  the  staff,  and  also 
Philip  Gibbs,  the  well-known  war  correspondent  and 
novelist,  who  began  his  career  with  Cassell  and  Company. 

THE  "BRISTOL  EVENING   TIMES  AND   ECHO" 

The  Bristol  Evening  Times  was  started  in  October, 
1904.  The  editorial  control  is  in  the  hands  of  three 
directors,  and  the  executive  chief  under  them  is  H.  Slater 
Stone.  The  Bristol  Echo,  which  was  the  Evening  Times' 
most  effective  opponent,  was  purchased  in  1909  and 
amalgamated  with  the  Evening  Times.  The  chief  sub- 
editor is  V.  Reece,  formerly  of  the  South  Wales  Daily 
Ne^vs  and  Bristol  Evening  News,  his  chief  assistant  being 
A.  J.  Spurll,   formerly  of  the  Bristol  Times  and  Mirror. 


The  Provincial  Press  191 

When  the  docks  were  closed  to  the  Press,  S.  J.  Hobbs 
was  shipping  expert  of  the  Mirror,  and  is  now  on  the 
staff.  Mr.  Slater  Stone  has  had  a  wide  experience  in  pro- 
vincial journalism,  which  enables  him,  in  his  own  words, 
to    "carry    on"    during    the    difficult    times    caused    by 

the  war. 

THE  "BRISTOL  TIMES   AND   MIRROR" 

The  Bristol  Times  and  Mirror,  which  celebrated  its  bi- 
centenary quite  recently,  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  pro- 
vincial papers.  In  its  long  and  continuous  history  in 
recording  what  the  editor  described  to  me  as  "the  small 
play  and  politics  of  an  ancient  city,"  it  has  had  many 
well-known  contributors,  the  most  interesting  of  whom 
was  the  "Marvellous  Boy,"  Chatterton,  who  used  its 
columns  for  the  publication  of  some  of  the  forged 
"Rowley"  manuscripts.  Coming  to  more  recent  times, 
Mark  Lemon,  the  late  Joseph  Hatton,  Charles  Pebody, 
who  left  it  in  the  'seventies  to  become  editor  of  the 
Yorkshire  Post,  and  Hugh  Conway,  the  author  of  "Called 
Back,"  were  on  the  editorial  staff  or  among  the  contributors. 
Other  men  it  has  sent  into  the  world  of  wider  journalism 
are  Sir  Stanley  Reed,  editor  of  the  Times  of  India; 
T.  McDonald  Rendle,  of  London  Opinion;  Ernest  D.  Lee, 
editor  of  the  Pioneer  of  Allahabad;  and  R.  D.  Davies, 
editor  of  the  Singapore  Free  Press.  The  work  of  chief 
leader  writer  has  been  undertaken  by  R.  J.  Michie. 
Another  valued  writer  of  local  influence  on  the  staff  is 
Charles  Wells,  who  for  a  generation  has  served  on  the 
Council  of  the  Institute  of  Journalists.  Mr.  Walter  Haw- 
kins, the  managing  director  of  the  firm,  has  been  well 
known  in  West  Country  journalism  for  more  than  half  a 
century.  He  has  had  the  distinction  of  serving  as  chair- 
man of  the  committee  of  the  Press  Association,  following 
an  example  which  was  set  him  by  a  former  manager,  John 
Matthew  Gutch,  who  was  the  first  president  of  the  newly 
formed  Newspaper  Society  in  1836. 


192  The  Street  of  Ink 

THE  "CAMBRIA  DAILY   LEADER" 

The  Cambria  Daily  Leader  is  the  oldest  of  the  Welsh 
daily  journals.  It  was  started  as  a  morning  paper  and 
subsequently,  in  the  words  of  Mr.  J.  D.  Williams,  the 
editor,  "settled  down  to  a  very  successful  career  as  an 
evening."  The  paper  was  at  one  time  the  property  of  Sir 
George  Newnes,  and  is  now  owned  by  a  company. 
Howard  Corbett,  the  manager  of  The  Times,  was  formerly 
manager  of  the  paper,  and  gave  early  proof  of  his  capacity 
by  producing  the  largest  industrial  supplement  ever  issued 
by  an  evening  paper  in  England.  The  present  editor — 
who  succeeded  Thomas  Rees,  who  had  edited  the  paper 
with  ability  for  many  years  previously — has  grown  up 
with  the  Cambria  Daily  Leader,  having  started  as  an 
errand  boy  twenty-four  years  ago.  He  has  been  through 
all  the  departments.  The  general  manager,  A.  P. 
Higham,  was  for  some  years  Parliamentary  correspondent 
of  the  Western  Mail. 

THE  "DUNDEE  ADVERTISER" 

The  Dundee  Advertiser  is  an  old-established  newspaper, 
having  been  founded  in  1801.  It  was  a  comparatively 
small  paper  until  Sir  John  Leng  (a  brother  of  Sir  William 
Leng  of  the  Sheffield  Telegraph)  reversed  the  usual  tradi- 
tion by  going  North  from  his  native  town  of  Hull  to  the 
Scottish  city,  and  turned  it  into  one  of  the  most  successful 
papers  in  the  provinces,  with  ramifications  extending  all 
over  Scotland,  and  into  England  and  Ireland  as  well.  So 
great  a  figure  indeed  did  he  become  in  Dundee  that  he  had 
the  distinction  of  representing  the  city  in  Parliament. 
The  Dundee  Advertiser  makes  a  feature  of  London  corre- 
spondence as  well  as  agricultural  and  shipping  news.  It 
also  caters  specially  for  the  world-wide  business  interests 
which  are  associated  with  the  district  it  covers,  by  means 
of  special  commercial  telegrams  from  the  business  centres 
of  the  world.    Mv  recollections  of  Mr.  ].  D.  Gunnison,  of 


Ml-     '  ,,     \      ~i    I 


Mr.   KENNi-nv 

JONKS,    M.P. 


XII 


The  Provincial  Press  i93 

the  London  office,  go  back  to  the  time  when  I  first  came 
into  the  Street  of  Ink.  He  was  even  then  a  very  well- 
known  figure  in  the  business  circles  of  that  thoroughfare. 
The  Leng  printing  presses  in  Dundee  are  constantly  busy 
in  the  production  of  popular  reading  in  the  shape  of  weekly 
newspapers,  periodicals  and  other  publications.  The  most 
famous  of  the  family  are  the  People's  Journal  and  People's 
Friend,  which  are  familiar  to  every  Scot  at  home  and 
abroad.  The  enterprise  w'hich  Sir  John  Leng  showed  in 
his  day  and  generation  is  well  sustained  by  those  who  are 
following  in  his  footsteps. 

THE  "EASTERN  DAILY   PRESS" 

In  writing  about  the  newspapers  in  East  Anglia,  I 
must  mention  the  Norfolk  News  Company,  in  which  the 
Colman  family  has  a  controlling  interest,  and  which,  in- 
deed, in  a  sense,  is  finked  up  with  my  own  papers  through 
its  editor,  Archie  Cozens-Hardy,  whose  brother,  as  I  have 
mentioned,  is  an  esteemed  colleague  of  my  own  on  the  Daily 
News.  A.  Cozens-Hardy  has  been  editor  of  the  Eastern 
Daily  Press  and  three  other  subsidiary  concerns  for  the 
last  twenty  years,  and  has  successfully  cultivated  the 
happy  knack  of  keeping  on  good  terms  wath  Liberals, 
Conservatives  and  Labour  representatives,  with  bishops, 
deans  and  dissenters,  and  with  landlords,  farmers  and 
agricultural  labourers. 

The  Eastern  Daily  Press  is  Liberal  in  politics,  and  has 
no  Conservative  rival,  the  only  other  morning  daily  pub- 
lished in  the  eastern  counties  being  the  East  Anglian 
Daily  Times,  w'hose  constituency  has  Ipswich  and  not 
Norwich  for  its  centre. 

Some  years  ago  a  Unionist  venture,  inspired  from 
London,  attempted  to  establish  a  clientele  in  Nor- 
wich. It  retreated  out  of  action,  having  suffered  heavy 
casualties. 

Jacob  Henry  Tillett,   one  of  John   Bright's  old   Free 

N 


194  The    Street   of    Ink 

Trade  and  Chartist  associates,  was  editor  of  the  Norfolk 
News  a  generation  ago.  H.  W.  Massingham,  the  editor 
of  the  Nation,  for  many  years  wrote  its  weekly  London 
Letter.  Arthur  Spurgeon,  the  enterprising  head  of  the 
House  of  Cassell,  started  his  professional  life  on  the  staff 
at  Norwich,  and  afterwards  took  charge  of  the  National 
Press  Agency,  which  has  long  been  responsible  for  the 
Parliamentary  Letter  of  the  Eastern  Daily  Press.  A 
particularly  brilliant  E.D.P.  leader  writer  was  L.  F. 
Austin,  Chesterton's  predecessor  on  the  Illustrated  Lon- 
don News.  One  of  the  present  leader  writers  on  the 
Eastern  Daily  Press  is  Fred  Henderson,  who  was  a 
Labour  member  on  the  first  London  County  Council, 
and  has  since  done  splendid  work  in  firing  the  eastern 
counties  with  a  fine  recruiting  zeal. 

"EAST  ANGLIAN   DAILY  TIMES" 

A  few  years  ago  I  was  entertained  by  an  angel 
unawares,  to  adapt  a  familiar  saying  to  the  circumstances. 
The  occasion  was  one  of  those  delightful  Press  trips 
of  the  Great  Eastern  Railway,  which  are  such  a 
happy  recollection  of  pre-war  days.  It  was  the  first 
occasion  upon  which  Mr.  H.  W.  Thornton  acted  as 
host,  and  I  learned  that  he,  like  all  the  leading 
railway  men  I  know,  had  the  bump  of  hospitality  well 
developed.  One  day  I  was  lunching  with  a  new  acquaint- 
ance, and  our  conversation  turned  to  politics.  From  what 
he  told  me  I  found  that  my  vis-d-vis  was  Sir  Frederick 
Wilson,  the  principal  proprietor  of  the  East  Anglian  Daily 
Times,  who  during  the  short  time  he  was  managing 
director  of  the  Star,  assisted  to  found  the  Morning  Leader. 
He  started  the  East  Anglian  Daily  Times  in  1874,  and 
has  edited  the  paper  since  that  time.  He  was  actively 
assisted  by  the  late  T.  R.  Elkington,  whose  son,  Bertrand 
Elkington,  is  now  his  righthand  man. 

"Many  perils  incident  to  the  birth  and  progress  of  a 


The  Provincial  Press  i95 

daily  newspaper  were  encountered,"  Sir  Frederick  says, 
"the  most  dangerous  and  important  being  an  action  for 
libel,  with  large  damages  claimed,  for  the  report  of  a  clerical 
refusal  to  bury  an  unbaptised  child.  The  Burials  Bill  was 
at  the  time  a  leading  subject  of  discussion,  and  national 
interest  attached  to  the  trial,  which  took  place  in  the 
High  Court  at  Westminster,  in  June,  1879,  terminating  in 
a  verdict  for  the  plaintiff  for  40s.  only.  The  result  was  to 
pass  the  Burials  Bill  through  Lords  and  Commons,  while 
the  costs  in  the  case,  amounting  to  ^900,  were  repaid  to 
the  proprietor  of  the  East  Anglian  Daily  Times,  accom- 
panied with  a  testimonial,  in  grateful  recognition  of 
ser^nces  rendered  to  the  cause  of  religious  freedom  and 
humanity." 

East  Anglia,  being  an  important  sporting  district, 
hunting  articles  became  a  popular  feature.  A  long  run 
with  the  foxhounds  would  be  graphically  described  next 
morning  in  the  newspaper.  The  London  Letter  is  also  a 
notable  feature,  written  at  one  time  by  Sir  Henry  Lucy, 
subsequently  by  the  late  Mr.  Alfred  Kinnear,  and  now  by 
Air.  Bray,  of  the  Central  News. 

In  1895  Sir  Frederick  Wilson  entered  Parliament  as 
member  for  Mid  Norfolk,  which  he  represented  for  ten 
years,  during  which  he  rode  fourth  in  the  Parlia- 
mentary Steeplechase  which  "Jack"  Pease  won.  He 
is  J. P.  for  Suffolk,  Deputy-Lieutenant  for  Norfolk, 
and  his  experience  as  editor-proprietor  ranges  over  fifty 
years.  He  told  me  that  he  holds  the  firm  opinion  that 
newspaper  men  should  qualify  for  all-round  work,  going 
into  the  machine-room  as  well  as  the  editorial  sanctum, 
recognising  the  high  importance  of  the  man  who  knows 
the  value  of  news,  and  having  intimate  relations  with  the 
genius  who  provides  the  sinews  of  war,  the  advertisement 
manager.  He  added  wittily  that  fifty  years  ago  the  chief 
constable  of  the  town  told  him  that  he  should  give  up  the 
paper  and  take  in  the  contents  bill. 


196  The  Street  of  Ink 

THE   "SCOTSMAN" 

Those  who  might  be  incHned  to  look  down  upon  what 
they  are  pleased  to  call  provincial  journalism  would 
change  their  views  if  they  were  to  inspect  the  palatial 
Scotsman  building,  which  must  form  one  of  the  hand- 
somest and  most  perfectly  equipped  newspaper  offices  in 
the  world.  The  whole  building,  including  the  site,  cost 
no  less  than  half  a  million  !  It  is  the  largest  ever  erected 
by  private  enterprise  in  Edinburgh. 

The  original  office,  from  which  the  first  number  was 
issued  on  January  25,  181 7,  consisted  of  two  small  rooms 
for  the  publishing  and  editorial  offices,  the  printing  being 
done  by  contract.  The  amount  of  matter  corresponded 
roughly  to  about  twelve  columns  of  the  present  daily  issue, 
and  the  price  charged  w^as  tenpence. 

The  paper  began  in  a  very  humble  way,  as  the  ambition 
of  the  proprietors  was  to  obtain  three  hundred  subscribers, 
which  they  calculated  would  pay  their  expenses.  For  six 
years,  until  the  end  of  1830,  the  paper  was  issued  as  a 
weekly,  after  which  it  was  published  twice  a  week,  on 
Wednesdays  and  Saturdays.  It  was  issued  as  a  penny 
daily  in  1855,  but  the  publication  of  the  two  issues  a  week 
was  continued  simultaneously  for  some  years. 

The  name  of  Alexander  Russel  is  as  inseparable  from 
the  Scotsman  as  the  name  of  Delane  from  The  Times. 
Russel  was  one  of  the  greatest  editors  in  the  history  of  the 
Press.  He  joined  the  Scotsvian  as  assistant  editor,  and  in 
three  years,  during  part  of  which  time  he  performed  the 
editor's  duties,  he  took  sole  responsibility,  eventually 
becoming  one  of  the  proprietors.  During  the  thirteen 
years  of  his  direction  the  Scotsman  acquired  increased  in- 
fluence and  popularity,  the  ability  shown  by  the  editorial 
department  being  supplemented  by  the  enterprise  of  the 
business  management,  particularly  as  regards  distribution. 
When  it  was  decided  to  seek  a  larger  field  than  Edinburgh 
and   its   neighbourhood,    the   utmost   energy  was   shown. 


The  Provincial  Press  ^97 

and  in  the  course  of  a  few  months  the  Scotsman's  list  of 
country  agents  had  grown  from  eighty  to  upwards  of  one 
thousand,  and  the  circulation  had  grown  also. 

The  Scotsman  was  one  of  the  first  papers  to  install  a 
private  wire  from  London,  and  to  establish  a  staff  of  sub- 
editors and  reporters  in  the  Metropolis.  No  expense  is 
spared  in  maintaining  an  efficient  service  from  this  office, 
as  mav  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  on  occasion  a  review 
of  an  important  book  is  often  telegraphed  from  London  to 
the  offices  in  Edinburgh.  The  editor  is  Mr.  J.  P.  Croal, 
in  whose  hands  the  traditions  and  influence  of  the  Scots- 
man are  fully  maintained. 

I  cannot  conclude  this  brief  note  better  than  by  quoting 
an  extract  from  a  reference  to  the  Scotsman's  centenary 
number  published  on  January  25,  1917  : 

"A  remarkable  fact  in  its  career,  to  which  the  centenary 
leading  article  in  the  paper  calls  attention,  has  been  '  a 
continuity  of  influence  '  in  its  editorial  and  business  man- 
agement, which  is  '  perhaps  unparalleled  in  the  record  of 
any  other  journal.'  '  To  be  one  of  the  few  newspapers 
that  have  lived  through  the  nineteenth  century — there  are 
only  three  in  London  which  have  had  this  vitality — is  itself 
a  distinction  ;  to  be  able  to  say  that  on  its  business  side 
the  paper  has  been  through  all  its  hundred  years  of  activity 
under  the  control  of  two  men,  the  younger  of  whom  was 
closely  associated  for  thirteen  years  with  the  elder,  and  is 
still  in  active  supervision  of  its  affairs,  and  that  on  the 
editorial  side  its  direction  has  been  in  the  hands  of  only 
four  men,  and  that  continuous  personal  association  links 
up  in  this  department  the  '  'forties  with  the  centenary 
year — a  span  of  seventy  years — is  to  present  an  extra- 
ordinary chapter  in  journalism.'"  The  editors  referred  to 
are  Charles  Maclaren,  Alexander  Russel,  the  late  Dr. 
Charles  Alfred  Cooper,  and  the  present  editor,  Mr.  J.  P. 
Croal ;  while  the  business  heads  whose  periods  of  manage- 
ment have  spanned  the  century  are  Mr.  John  Ritchie,  who 


198  The  Street  of  Ink 

died  in  December,  1870,  at  the  age  of  92,  and  Mr.  James 
Law,  who  reaches  his  diamond  jubilee  as  manager  this 

year  [1917]- 

When  one  speaks  of  the  greatest  papers  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  the  Scotsman  is  always  included. 

THE   "EDINBURGH   EVENING    DISPATCH" 

The  Edinburgh  Evening  Dispatch  was  started  by  the 
Scotsman  in  1886.  They  believed  that  before  many  years 
had  passed  the  evening  newspaper  would  appeal  to  a 
wider  constituency  than  it  had  done  previously,  and  as 
circumstances  proved,  they  were  justified  in  their  pre- 
dictions. The  Boer  War  in  1899  gave  the  paper  its 
first  great  opportunity,  and  in  those  days  the  first  edition 
was  sometimes  printed  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  as  many  papers  published  before  noon  as  would 
represent  an  ordinary  day's  circulation.  The  first  editor 
was  Alexander  Riach,  who  had  previously  been  on  the 
sub-editing  staff  of  the  Scotsman,  the  Edinburgh  Evening 
News,  and  the  Daily  Telegraph.  He  was  succeeded  by 
T.  B.  Maclachlan,  formerly  editor  of  the  Weekly 
Scotsman. 

THE  "GLASGOW  EVENING   NEWS'* 

The  Glasgow  Evening  News  needs  no  better  recom- 
mendation than  the  fact  that  two  first-class  newspaper 
men  in  London  received  their  initial  training  in  its  office. 
I  refer  to  Kennedy  Jones,  M.P.,  and  James  Heddle,  both 
of  whom  I  have  already  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
enterprises  of  Lord  Northcliffe  and  Mr.  Hulton.  It  has 
been  edited  and  managed  for  the  past  thirty-two  years  by 
James  Murray  Smith,  and  in  less  than  half  that  time 
developed  under  his  sagacious  guidance  from  a  four-page 
sheet  to  a  paper  of  twelve  pages. 

Its  extension  of  size  was  no  less  rapid  and  marked  than 
its  growth  of  influence,  largely  due  to  its  opening  up  of 


The  Provincial  Press  ^99 

new  features  of  public  interest  which  had  previously  been 
regarded  as  outside  the  scope  of  halfpenny  evening 
journals.  Some  years  ago  Sir  William  Robertson  Nicoll 
described  the  News  as  "one  of  the  best  dailies  in  the 
United  Kingdom."  To  him,  as  doubtless  to  many  southern 
journalists,  its  most  striking  feature,  and  one  at  the  time 
unique  among  halfpenny  newspapers,  may  have  been  its 
social  and  literary  pages,  to  which,  from  week  to  week, 
many  of  the  most  prominent  writers  in  the  country  have 
contributed  signed  articles.  Exclusively  engaged  on  w^ork 
of  this  character  for  the  News,  and  also  as  a  writer  of  very 
clever  topical  verse,  Mr.  R.  J.  Maclennan  has  been  on  the 
staff  for  many  years.  Municipal,  theatrical,  art,  musical, 
feminine,  and  sporting  interests  have  been  no  less 
zealously  fostered,  and  at  the  same  time  there  has  been 
nothing  wanting  to  make  the  News  a  complete  chronicle 
of  the  very  latest  events  of  the  day.  It  has  a  private 
telegraph  wire  between  its  Fleet  Street  office  and  the  head 
office  in  Glasgow. 

Associated  with  Mr.  Murray  Smith  on  its  board  of 
directors  are  Sir  John  Ure  Primrose,  Bart.,  an  ex-Lord 
Provost  of  Glasgow,  and  Neil  Munro,  the  novelist,  who 
has  a  connection  of  thirty  years  with  the  paper.  The 
assistant  editor,  George  Farquhar,  has  also  been  on  the 
staff  for  a  similar  period,  beginning,  like  Mr.  ]\Iunro,  as 
a  junior  reporter.  The  other  leader  writers  are  W.  S. 
Ballantyne  and  George  Primrose,  both  trained  on  the 
News,  and  thoroughly  capable  journalists.  The  news 
editor  is  Alexander  Ralston,  who  joined  the  staff  after 
completing  his  education  at  Glasgow  University,  and  the 
chief  reporter,  D.  S.  Robertson,  is  persona  grata  with 
every  public  man  and  official  in  the  City.  Musical 
matters  have  always  been  prominently  discussed  in  the 
Ne^.vs  by  J.  J.  Brodie,  author  of  "Talks  on  Music,"  who 
has  been  critic  on  the  paper  for  thirty  years,  and  in  the 
course  of  his  work  has  attended  almost  every  great  festival 


200  The  Street  of  Ink 

and  opera  in  London  and  the  provinces,  as  well  as  those 
at  Bayreuth. 

The  editorial  interests  of  67  Hope  Street,  as  far  as 
the  London  end  is  concerned,  have  throughout  its  history 
been  in  the  hands  of  a  succession  of  well-known  Fleet 
Street  men.  For  years  the  London  Letter  was  written  by 
the  late  Mr.  Peacock,  of  the  Morning  Post,  and  the  more 
urgent  political  leaders  associated  with  events  at  late  sit- 
tings in  Westminster  were  the  work  of  the  late  Mr.  Ross, 
of  The  Times.  Since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  Mr. 
James  Nicol  Dunn  has  been  responsible  for  the  editorial 
management  in  Fleet  Street,  and  for  the  London  Letter, 
having  associated  with  him  Mr.  David  Hodge.  So  long 
as  John  D.  Irvine  was  lobbying  for  the  Morning 
Post  he  acted  as  Westminster  correspondent  of  the 
News;  in  recent  years  this  function  has  been  admirably 
undertaken  by  Falconer  Geddie,  who  is  at  present 
serving  in  the  Army.  The  London  business  and  advertis- 
ing manager  is  Arthur  Bettany,  who  is  in  daily  contact 
by  the  private  wire  with  David  Loudoun,  the  business 
manager  in  Glasgow,  who  has  also  been  connected  with 
the  paper  for  many  years.  Early  in  its  development  the 
News  was  widely  known  for  its  prompt  and  rapid  publica- 
tion of  events  and  results  of  all  kinds.  It  was  the  first 
evening  paper  that  brought  out  a  football  edition,  and 
before  the  modern  fudge  box  was  designed  the  black 
square  on  which  results  were  stamped  was  devised  in  the 
News  machine-room. 

It  should  also  be  mentioned  that  George  White- 
law,  the  clever  artist  on  the  Passing  Show,  was  trained 
on  the  News,  and  for  many  years  his  brilliant  daily 
cartoons  delighted  the  Glasgow  public.  His  successor 
is  Robbins  Miller,  a  capable  young  artist  who  was 
trained  in  the  famous  Art  School  of  the  city. 

Another  London  journalist  brought  up  on  the  News 
is  J.   A.   Kilpatrick,   for  a  time   editor  of  the  Standard. 


The  Provincial  Press  201 

He  did  some  clever  black-and-white  work  while  on  the 
staff,  and  wrote  "Literary  Landmarks  of  Glasgow,"  which 
ran  through  the  columns  of  the  paper  and  was  illustrated 
by  himself. 

THE   "GLASGOW  HERALD" 

We  have  to  go  back  to  January,  1783,  for  the  birth 
of  the  Glasgow  Herald,  when  the  Glasgow  Advertiser  (as 
it  originally  was  called)  was  first  published  by  John 
Alennons.  The  paper  started  with  a  "scoop,"  as  by 
the  courtesy  of  the  Lord  Provost  it  was  enabled  to 
print  a  dispatch  from  Lord  Grantham,  one  of  the  Secre- 
taries of  State,  "intimating  the  arrival  of  a  messenger 
from  Paris  with  the  preliminary  articles  between  Great 
Britain  and  France,  and  between  Great  Britain  and 
Spain,"  signed  at  Versailles  on  the  20th  of  the  month — 
seven  days  before.  "From  this  lucky  start,"  the  pro- 
prietors say,  "the  paper  has  never  seriously  looked  back." 

In  1789  we  find  the  paper  issued  twice  weekly  as 
the  Glasgow  Advertiser  and  Eve7iing  Intelligence,  price 
threepence  per  single  copy.  In  1794  the  paper  reverted 
to  its  original  title  of  the  Glasgow  Advertiser,  and  the 
price  was  raised  to  fourpence.  On  November  i,  1802,  the 
name  appeared  as  the  Herald  and  Advertiser,  and  in  1805 
the  title  Advertiser  was  finally  dropped,  and  the  name 
became  the  Glasgow  Herald.  After  the  abolition  of  the 
taxes  on  knowledge  the  Glasgow  Herald  became  a  penny 
daily  newspaper,  the  first  number  in  this  form  being 
issued  on  January  3,  1859. 

The  Glasgow  Herald  is  one  of  the  pioneers  of  our  daily 
Press,  and  it  may  be  said  that  it  has  always  been  to  the 
fore  with  the  methods  of  enterprise  which  have  made  it  one 
of  the  best  known  papers  in  the  world.  Its  notable  succession 
of  editors  includes  Colonel  "Sam"  Hunter,  a  prominent 
Volunteer  figure  of  Napoleonic  days;  George  Outram,  the 
witty    author    of    "Legal    Lyrics";    Dr.    James    Pagan, 


202  The  Street  of  Ink 

memorable  as  organiser,  local  historian  and  social  investi- 
gator; and  Dr.  J.  H.  Stoddart,  a  poet  and  a  brilliant  leader 
writer. 

For  nineteen  years,  up  to  1907,  the  editor  was  Dr. 
Charles  Gilchrist  Russell,  who  for  thirteen  years  pre- 
viously had  been  assistant  editor.  He  maintained  all  the 
characteristics  established  by  his  predecessors  and  handed 
on  others  to  his  successors,  notably  the  prominence  given 
to  current  literature.  Commercial  news  has  long  been 
given  a  foremost  place  in  the  Glasgow  Herald.  Dr. 
Russell  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  William  Wallace,  a  well 
known  litterateur,  who  had  been  a  member  of  the  staff 
for  many  years,  but  ill-health  compelled  him  to  retire  from 
the  editorial  chair  in  1909,  when  Mr.  F.  Harcourt  Kitchin 
was  appointed. 

Mr.  Kitchin,  after  a  brilliant  career  at  Malvern  and 
Cambridge,  subsequently  joined  the  editorial  staff  of  The 
Times  in  1895,  and  became  founder  and  editor  of  its 
Financial  and  Commercial  Supplement  in  1904.  He  was 
assistant  manager  of  The  Tifties  from  igo8  to  1909,  when 
he  left  to  take  up  the  editorship  of  the  Glasgow  Herald, 
which  he  resigned  in  1917.  Under  Mr.  Kitchin's  able 
control  the  paper  continued  to  flourish  as  of  old  and  to 
justify  the  belief  put  forward  at  the  centenary  celebration 
in  1882  by  Dr.  Stoddart,  who  was  then  editor,  that  it 
would  pursue  "the  policy  of  freedom  and  independence 
which  has  characterised  its  past  history." 

Mr.  Robert  Bruce,  the  present  editor,  was  Mr. 
Kitchin's  chief  assistant.  He  began  his  journalistic 
work  on  the  Alloa  Advertiser,  and  was  a  member  of 
the  head  office  staff  of  the  Aberdeen  Journal  from  1892 
until  1898,  when  he  became  a  member  of  the  Glasgow 
Herald's  Parliamentary  staff,  and  was  then  successively 
chief  of  the  Gallery  staff,  Lobbyist  and  descriptive 
Parliamentary  sketch  writer,  and  London  editor  before 
arriving  at  his  present  position. 


The  Provincial  Press  203 

The  Glasgow  Herald  was  one  of  the  first,  if  not  the 
first,  among  provincial  newspapers  to  lease  a  private  wire 
from  the  Post  Office,  and  it  was  one  of  the  first  to  appoint 
a  special  correspondent  to  act  for  it  in  London.  To-day  it 
employs  in  London  alone  the  exclusive  services  of  six 
Parliamentary  reporters,  a  City  editor  and  his  assistant, 
specialists  in  shipbuilding,  music,  art,  the  drama  and 
kindred  subjects,  as  well  as  two  sub-editors  to  deal  with 
the  copy  received  in  the  Fleet  Street  office. 

Associated  with  the  Glasgow  Herald  are  the  Glasgozv 
Weekly  Herald,  the  Bulletin,  which  is  a  daily  picture 
paper,  and  the  Glasgow  Evening  Times.  The  last- 
named  is  one  of  the  best  known  evening  journals  in  the 
provinces,  and  rivals  its  great  sister  daily  in  enterprise. 
The  proprietors  relate  an  amusing  episode  connected  with 
the  carrier  pigeon  service  employed  by  the  paper  for  send- 
ing football  results  in  the  old  days.  "There  was  unholy 
glee,"  they  relate,  "when  it  became  known  in  the  offices  of 
the  rival  evening  papers  that  the  pigeon  bearing  the  result 
of  an  important  game  had  sat  outside  its  cot  calmly  peck- 
ing the  message  on  its  leg  to  pieces." 

THE   HULL   "DAILY   MAIL" 

The  Hull  Daily  Mail  claims  to  be  the  first  evening 
newspaper  to  publish  illustrations,  and  to  be  the  pioneer 
of  six-page  halfpenny  evening  newspapers  in  England. 
It  certainly  enjoys  the  reputation  of  being  enterprising 
and  popular.  The  editor,  Edgar  S.  Lewis,  was  formerly 
chief  sub-editor  of  the  Nottingham  Daily  Guardian,  and 
has  also  edited  the  Westmorland  Gasette  and  Preston 
Herald.  He  has  edited  the  Hull  Daily  Mail  and  the 
Hull  Weekly  Times  from  i8go,  and  is  on  the  board  of 
directors  of  the  company  owning  these  properties.  He 
tells  me  that  the  Mail's  greatest  scoop  was  the  publication 
of  the  Dogger  Bank  incident.  His  assistant  editors  are 
Charles  Watson,   formerly  a  sub-editor  on  the  Bradford 


204  The  Street  of  Ink 

Daily  Telegraph,  and  E.  Wills  Lewis;  W.  J.  Blyton  is 
the  dramatic  critic,  and  the  chief  sub-editor  is  R.  W.  Binns. 

THE  "IRISH  INDEPENDENT" 

Every  year  on  Shamrock  Day  a  box  containing  a 
sprig  of  shamrock  reaches  my  office  table  from  Mr. 
W.  T.  Brewster,  the  secretary  and  manager  of  the  In- 
dependent Newspapers,  Limited,  the  owners  of  the 
Irish  Independent,  Dublin  Evening  Herald,  Dublin 
Saturday  Herald,  Irish  Weekly  Independent,  and  the 
Sunday  Independent.  I  have  therefore  a  high  opinion 
of  his  tactful ness.  He  is  secretary  of  the  Irish  Newspaper 
Society,  and  is  much  beloved  by  the  staff.  The  head  of 
the  firm  is  Mr.  William  Martin  Murphy,  and  the  manag- 
ing director  was  his  son,  E.  Martin  Murphy,  who  was 
keenly  interested  in  the  successful  newspapers  whose  for- 
tunes he  had  helped  to  build  up.  T.  A.  Grehan,  the 
advertisement  manager,  and  William  Chapman,  the  works 
manager,  are  tw^o  very  capable  officials.  Arthur  J.  Wall 
is  the  London  representative  of  this  enterprising  group  of 
Irish  newspapers. 

T.  R.  Harrington  has  ably  filled  the  editorial  chair  of 
the  Irish  Independent  since  its  conversion  into  a  half- 
penny paper.  He  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  "biggest" 
editors  in  the  three  kingdoms — at  any  rate,  there  is  no 
question  but  that  he  is  so  physically.  The  editorial  "com- 
mand "  of  the  Irish  Weekly  Independent  and  the  Sunday 
Independent  (Ireland's  first  Sunday  newspaper)  is  in  the 
competent  hands  of  J.  P.  Lynch.  J.  J.  Ryce  is  the  editor 
of  the  Diihlin  Evening  Herald  and  Saturday  Herald.  In 
a  letter  to  me  he  said  : 

"An  American  editor  recently  wrote:  'Another  Irish 
Industry— Raising  Hell  in  "The  Little  Bit  of  Heaven.'" 
But  the  American  writer  forgot  one  other  growing  Irish 
industry — raising  printers'  devils;  and  many  of  them  make 
excellent  stokers  in  the  ships  that  float  on  the  Transatlantic 


The  Provincial  Press  205 

seas  of  journalism.  Many  men  who  now  occupy 
editorial  chairs  in  the  leading  newspaper  offices  of 
the  country  began  their  careers  in  the  reading-rooms 
of  the  provincial  press.  I  am  very  proud  to  be  of 
the  number." 

THE   "IRISH  TIMES" 

The  Irish  Times  of  Dublin  appeared  as  a  penny  daily 
paper  on  June  8,  1859,  having  been  founded,  as  a  tri- 
weekly at  the  end  of  the  previous  March,  and  the  time 
was  well  chosen,  for  great  events  were  happening  and  the 
public  was  ravenous  for  news.  Major  Lawrence  E.  Knox 
decided  that  the  name  was  the  best  he  could  choose  to 
indicate  the  policy  of  tJie  paper,  which  was  intended  to 
reflect  the  sentiments  of  the  thinking  classes  in  Ireland. 
A  successful  start  was  maintained  by  an  enterprising 
management,  which  took  advantage  of  every  facility  for 
gathering  news  and  for  distributing  it  to  the  public.  On 
the  death  of  Major  Knox  in  1873  the  property  was  acquired 
by  Sir  John  Arnott  for  ^35,000,  and  he  signalised  his 
advent  by  means  of  a  personal  address  to  the  readers,  in 
which  he  announced  his  intention  of  "attempting  to  carry 
out  the  aims  and  aspirations  in  which  the  late  generous 
and  high-minded  proprietor  so  well  succeeded."  Under 
Sir  John  Arnott's  control  and  the  management  of  the  late 
James  Carlyle  the  paper  in  which  he  took  a  justifiable 
pride  gained  prosperity  and  won  the  respect  of  all  its 
contemporaries.  Shortly  after  his  death  in  1898  a  limited 
liability  company  was  formed,  of  which  the  present  Sir 
John  Arnott,  Bart.,  became  chairman  and  managing  direc- 
tor, the  other  directors  being  Major  Loftus  P.  Arnott,  Mr. 
Maxwell  Arnott,  and  the  manager,  Mr.  John  J.  Siming- 
ton.  John  E.  Healy,  B.L.,  M.A.,  has  been  editor  since 
1907,  and  the  London  correspondent  is  W.  Algernon 
Locker,  and  I  might  add  that  the  present  management  has 
equal  cause  for  pride  in  its  journal. 


2o6  The  Street  of  Ink 

Associated  with  the  Irish  Times  is  the  Weekly  Irish 
Times  and  the  Irish  Field. 

THE  "LEEDS  MERCURY" 

The  Leeds  Mercury  is  one  of  the  oldest-established 
newspapers  in  the  British  Isles,  as  it  was  first  set  on  foot 
in  May,  1718.  In  1801,  when  still  in  its  comparative  youth 
(it  was  only  just  over  eighty  years  old  !),  it  was  edited  by 
Mr.  Edward  Baines,  a  man  of  somewhat  caustic  wit,  as 
may  be  gathered  from  the  following  footnote  to  a  leading 
article  :  "  It  will  be  seen  by  referring  to  our  Parliamentary 
Proceedings  on  the  last  page  that  in  consequence  of  His 
Majesty's  indisposition  Mr.  Pitt  still  continues  Minister. 
May  God  send  the  King  a  speedy  recovery."  Sir  T. 
Wemyss  Reid  was  editor  of  the  Leeds  Mercury,  which  he 
left  to  become  general  manager  of  Cassell's.  He  and  Sir 
Edward  Baines  were  the  two  most  distinguished  occupants 
of  the  "chair."  The  present  editor,  Ernest  Outhwaite,  tells 
me  that  in  1885  the  Leeds  Mercury  announced  exclusively 
among  provincial  newspapers  Mr.  Gladstone's  intention 
to  introduce  his  first  Home  Rule  Bill,  and  the  news  caused 
a  tremendous  political  sensation. 

The  Leeds  Mercury  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
examples  of  the  modernisation  of  an  old-established 
provincial  paper.  When  Lord  Rothermere  bought  the 
property  in  June,  1901,  he  at  once  converted  it  into  a  half- 
penny news  picture  paper,  and  at  the  same  time  laid  the 
foundation  for  enhanced  popularity. 

THE   "LEICESTER   DAILY  POST" 

The  Leicester  Daily  Post  is  owned  by  F.  Hewitt 
and  Son,  Ltd.,  who  are  also  proprietors  of  several  other 
publications,  their  general  manager  being  W.  J.  Basford. 
The  editor  is  W.  G.  Gibbs,  who  was  for  nearly  twenty 
years  chief  sub-editor  of  the  Leicester  Daily  Mercury.  C. 
Hagon  is  the  chief  sub-editor,  and  both  are  very  promi- 


The  Provincial  Press  207 

nently  engaged  upon  local  public  work,  the  former  as 
hon.  secretary  of  the  Leicester  War  Hospitals  Com- 
mittee, Mr.  Hagon  as  chairman  of  the  Leicester  Board 
of  Guardians.  W.  Scarff,  the  chief  reporter,  has  been 
a  member  of  the  staff  for  over  thirty  years,  during  two- 
thirds  of  which  he  has  been  chief  of  the  department. 
Cyril  Tole,  a  member  of  the  reporting  staff,  is  a  specialist 
on  musical  and  art  matters,  and  critiques  over  his  initials 
are  a  feature  of  the  paper. 

THE  "LIVERPOOL  COURIER" 

The  Liverpool  analogy  to  the  Street  of  Ink  is  in- 
disputably Victoria  Street,  from  which  ten  newspapers 
are  regularly  issued.  Of  these  the  Liverpool  Courier, 
Liverpool  Evening  Express,  Liverpool  Weekly  Courier, 
and  Liverpool  Football  Express  emanate  from  one 
establishment.  The  Courier  is  the  parent  of  the  quar- 
tette, and  its  friends  claim  that  in  the  109th  year  of 
its  existence  it  combines  the  buoyancy  and  vigour  of 
youth  with  the  vision  and  stability  of  mature  age.  During 
its  long  career  the  Courier  has  either  conducted  or  taken 
a  leading  part  in  many  campaigns,  national  and  local, 
but  its  most  remarkable  achievement  was  witnessed 
a  few  years  ago,  when  as  the  leading  Unionist  organ 
in  Lancashire  it  boldly  took  the  initiative  of  urg- 
ing that  Tariff  Reform  should  be  postponed  as  one 
of  the  vital  issues  of  the  party  programme,  and  had 
the  satisfaction  of  witnessing  the  final  triumph  of  its 
advocacy. 

The  Courier  "discovered"  the  late  lamented  Dixon 
Scott,  whom  Sir  William  Robertson  Nicoll  described  as 
"our  greatest  literary  critic,"  and  who  lost  his  life  so 
gallantly  in  the  Gallipoli  expedition.  Lascelles  Aber- 
crombie,  the  poet,  won  his  spurs  as  a  member  of 
its  literary  staff.  Miss  N.  Desmond  Hackett,  the 
organiser    of    the    Women's    Emergency    Canteens    in 


2o8  The  Street  of  Ink 

France,  has  been  a  regular  contributor  of  clever  sketches 
of  life  among  the  French  soldiers. 

Alfred  Burchill,  the  managing  editor,  took  the  reins 
some  five  years  ago  after  a  journalistic  career  mainly- 
spent  with  the  Courier.  He  has  been  through  the  mill, 
and  has  gained  a  knowledge  of  newspaper  theory  and 
practice  in  all  departments.  He  brings  to  his  w^ork  a 
special  quality  of  alertness  and  prevision,  and  there  can 
be  few  newspaper  offices  where  efficiency  and  happiness 
go  so  well  hand-in-hand  as  the  result  of  a  mutual  loyalty 
between  the  editor  and  his  staff.  Other  names  that  should 
be  mentioned  are  those  of  J.  H.  Varwell,  the  literary 
manager,  who  joined  up  and  saw  service  in  the  trenches ; 
G.  H.  Peacock,  who  after  five  months'  service  as  a  sub- 
editor was  made  editor  of  the  Weekly  Courier,  and  left  that 
post  for  his  present  one  of  night  editor  and  literary  editor 
of  the  Daily  Courier ;  L.  H.  Chesterton,  leader  writer,  who 
has  the  reputation  of  being  a  descriptive  writer  of  the 
first  class,  and  is  one  of  the  foremost  of  the  Courier's  staff 
of  reviewers;  W.  Jamieson,  a  highly  popular  member  of 
the  staff,  who  is  news  editor;  and  J.  Robertson,  editor  of 
the  Express,  who  gained  experience  on  the  Aberdeen 
Journal,  and  now  controls  a  live  and  lively  paper. 

Associated  with  the  Courier  is  the  Liverpool  Express, 
one  of  the  best-known  of  the  North  Country  evenings. 
The  Liverpool  Weekly  Courier  is  a  paper  of  wide 
domestic  circulation  in  Lancashire,  Cheshire  and  North 
Wales,  and  the  Liverpool  Football  Express  is  a  Saturday 
night  publication  devoted  mainly  to  field  sports. 

THE   "LIVERPOOL  POST  AND   MERCURY" 

In  another  chapter  I  have  referred  as  an  example  of 
journalistic  enterprise  to  the  display  of  machinery  by 
newspapers  for  the  inspection  of  the  passers-by  in  the 
street.  This  is  unknown  in  London,  but  one  paper  at 
least — the    Li'verpool    Post    and    Mercury — has    a    press 


Mr.  Hruce  Ingram. 


Mk.     I.    .M.   HULI.OCH. 


.Mr.  C.  K.  Shorter. 


^ 


^[R.   K.   HUSKINSO.N 


Mlc.    (".KORI.K    KlNC. 


XIII 


The  Provincial  Press  209 

room  in  full  view  of  the  street  in  the  building  recently 
added  to  its  head  office,  and  the  public  beholds  the  print- 
ing with  never-failing  interest  through  the  big  windows. 
As  a  further  example  of  enterprise,  I  may  add  that  this 
extension  was  planned  so  as  to  produce  a  complete  news- 
paper in  the  event  of  a  fire  burning  down  the  main  build- 
ing. In  this  respect  the  premises  are  probably  unique, 
although  I  gather  from  Mr.  Jeans  that  they  are  already 
fully  occupied,  and  the  present  site,  big  as  it  is,  is  a 
source  of  worry,  as  it  does  not  allow  for  future  expansion  ! 

The  Liverpool  Mercury  is  the  older  portion  of  the 
amalgamated  property,  having  made  its  appearance  on 
July  5,  181 1.  It  was  established  by  Mr.  Egerton  Smith, 
a  literary  man  and  philanthropist,  as  a  weekly  paper,  and 
was  originally  a  small  eight-page  sheet,  the  price  of  which 
was  sevenpence.  In  1847  the  paper  began  to  appear 
twice  weekly,  and  eleven  years  later  a  daily  edition  was 
published  at  the  price  of  one  penny,  in  addition  to  the 
weekly  which  continued  to  maintain  (as  it  does  to-day)  its 
popularity  as  a  family  journal. 

The  Liverpool  Post  is  a  survival  of  the  Liverpool 
Journal,  which  was  founded  in  1830  (price  twopence),  and 
is  now  incorporated  with  the  Weekly  Post.  The  Liverpool 
Post  began  its  career  on  June  11,  1855,  and  was  ahead  of 
the  London  dailies  by  being  a  penny  paper  from  the  out- 
set. The  management  has  always  been  enterprising. 
Thirty-five  years  ago  it  distinguished  itself  by  dispatching 
three  correspondents  of  its  own  to  the  Egyptian  war. 

The  Liverpool  Post  and  the  Liverpool  Mercury  were 
amalgamated  in  1904  by  Mr.  Jeans,  the  present  managing 
director,  who  engineered  the  combination  so  quietly  that 
no  one  in  Liverpool  knew  of  it  until  the  day  before  it  was 
accomplished,  and  the  Liverpool  Echo,  Liverpool  Football 
Echo,  Liverpool  Weekly  Post,  and  Liverpool  Weekly 
Mercury  are  consequently  all  under  the  same  management. 
The  amalgamation  was  an  undoubted  success.      The  papers 


210  The  Street  of  Ink 

covered  the  same  territory,  and  each  had  a  strong  follow- 
ing. They  eliminated  competition,  and  formed  a  strong 
combination  with  the  valuable  additional  asset  of  the  ex- 
perience of  Sir  Edward  Russell  and  Mr.  A.  G.  Jeans,  the 
latter  of  whom  started  the  Liverpool  Echo  to  satisfy  the 
demands  for  a  new  Liverpool  evening  paper  in  1879.  Its 
record  has  been  one  of  constant  growth. 

The  Weekly  Post  was  founded  in  1878,  and  is  one  of 
the  most  popular  journals  in  the  provinces.  There  are 
various  editions  according  to  the  news  demands,  and  its 
pages  contain  in  addition  many  acceptable  features  (includ- 
ing pictures),  of  which  fiction  is  one  of  the  strongest.  One 
of  its  successes  was  "The  Woman  Thou  Gavest  Me,"  by 
Hall  Caine,  who  was  originally  a  member  of  the  staff  of 
the  Mercury,  as  was  Sir  Henry  Lucy. 

Sir  Edward  Russell,  now  over  eighty-two  years  of  age, 
is  editor-in-chief  of  the  allied  papers.  His  name  is  a 
household  word  among  journalists,  by  whom  he  is  re- 
garded with  the  admiration  and  respect  that  his  character 
and  abilities  command.  Originally  intended  for  the 
ministry,  he  became  associated  with  the  Islington  Daily 
Gazette,  of  which  he  was  afterwards  editor.  (This  paper, 
by  the  way,  deserves  mention  in  view  of  its  unique  position 
as  a  London  local  daily.) 

Sir  Edward  became  associated  with  the  Liverpool  Post 
as  assistant  editor  in  i860.  There  was  a  period  during 
which  he  returned  to  London  and  acted  as  leader  writer 
on  the  Morning  Star,  of  which  Justin  McCarthy  (and 
subsequently  John  Morley)  was  editor,  but  he  kept  up  his 
connection  with  the  Post  until  he  returned  to  Liverpool  as 
its  editor  in  1869. 

Mr.  A.  G.  Jeans  has  been  engaged  in  the  management 
of  the  Daily  Post  since  187 1,  in  which  year  he  joined  the 
literary  staff.  To  his  business  instinct  and  organising 
skill  much  of  the  success  of  the  papers  must  be  credited. 
He  is  a  member  of  a  well-known  and  honoured  journalistic 


The  Provincial  Press  211 

family,  the  traditions  of  which  are  being  worthily  carried 
on  by  his  son,  and  assistant,  Mr.  Allan  Jeans.  Mr. 
Egerton  Castle,  the  novelist,  is  a  director  of  the  papers. 

THE   "MANCHESTER   GUARDIAN" 

"What  Manchester  thinks  to-day,  England  thinks  to- 
morrow," used  to  be  a  favourite  saying — with  Manchester 
folk.  No  one,  however,  would  deny  that  w-hat  the  Man- 
chester Guardian  thinks  to-day  carries  due  weight  through- 
out the  United  Kingdom.  Clear  thinking,  fearless  ad- 
vocacy of  its  views,  and  dignity  of  utterance  are  all 
characteristics  of  this  noted  newspaper. 

It  was  literally  born  out  of  politics.  In  1819  a  young 
business  man,  John  Edward  Taylor,  sought  election  as 
one  of  the  assessors  of  the  township  of  Salford.  The  re- 
turning officer  took  it  upon  himself  to  raise  objection  to 
his  election,  and  made  several  misstatements  which  so 
exasperated  young  Taylor  that  he  called  the  official  "a 
liar,  a  slanderer  and  a  scoundrel."  Next  morning  he  had 
to  appear  at  the  Lancaster  Assizes  on  a  charge  correspond- 
ing to  the  modern  criminal  libel,  and  by  his  own  advocacy 
secured  a  verdict  of  "not  guilty."  Riding  back  to  Man- 
chester in  the  coach,  an  acquaintance  said  to  him  :  "It  is 
now  plain  that  you  have  the  elements  of  public  work  in 
you.     Why  don't  you  set  up  a  newspaper?" 

It  was  apparently  young  Taylor's  habit  to  translate 
thought  into  action.  He  founded  the  Manchester  Guar- 
dian as  a  weekly  in  182 1,  and  it  was  not  until  thirty-four 
years  later,  in  1855,  that  it  was  converted  into  a  daily.  It 
was  believed  in  1830  that  each  copy  of  the  Guardian  had 
a  very  large  number  of  readers  in  Manchester,  which  ac- 
counted for  its  influence,  despite  the  fact  that  the  circula- 
tion was  kept  down  owing  to  the  cost  to  the  purchaser. 
The  price  was  reduced  to  one  penny  in  1857,  two  years 
after  its  conversion  into  a  daily.  About  1867  a  Lon- 
don office  was  established   in   the   neighbourhood  of  the 


212  The  Street  of  Ink 

Houses  of  Parliament  (illustrating  the  importance  which 
the  proprietors  attached  to  political  news),  and  it  was  only 
within  the  last  few  years  that  a  change  was  made  to 
Fleet  Street. 

Like  others  of  the  larger  provincial  dailies,  the 
Manchester  Guardian  has  been  served  by  very  distin- 
guished journalists  in  London.  Mr.  jMassingham  and 
Mr.  Harold  Spender  were  both  at  one  time  members  of  its 
London  staff,  and  Mr.  J.  B.  Atkins  was  for  a  number  of 
years  its  London  manager.  J.  J.  O'Neill,  who  joined  the 
London  office  in  19 13  after  an  association  of  about  three 
years  with  the  commercial  department  of  the  Daily  Ex- 
press, is  one  of  the  young  men  of  the  Street  of  Ink  who 
are  seeking  Parliamentary  election,  and  as  he  is  not  yet 
thirty  his  selection  as  a  candidate  does  honour  to  his 
abilities.  The  paper  has  certainly  been  well  served 
in  the  Metropolis,  and  by  men  who  are  well-informed  and 
see  that  it  is  not  behind  any  of  its  contemporaries,  as  is 
shown  by  the  frequent  quotations  which  are  made  from 
its  columns. 

Mr.  C.  P.  Scott,  the  nephew  of  the  founder,  is  one  of 
our  great  editors  to-day.  During  the  forty-five  odd  years 
of  his  control  he  has  surrounded  himself  with  a  brilliant 
band  of  w^orkers  and  contributors,  of  whom  the  best-known 
are  probably  the  late  W.  T.  Arnold  (a  nephew  of 
Arnold  of  Rugby),  to  whom  the  paper  owes  much  of  its 
tradition  of  critical  acumen  and  scholarship;  C.  E. 
Montague,  Mr.  Scott's  son-in-law  and  righthand  man, 
who,  like  his  chief,  has  the  reputation  of  being  a  master 
of  our  craft;  and  L.  T.  Hobhouse,  author  of  various 
well-known  books  on  politics  and  social  development.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  the  late  Stanley  Houghton,  author 
of  "Hindle  Wakes,"  one  of  the  most  talented  of  the  Man- 
chester school  of  playwrights,  was  one  of  its  dramatic 
critics.  Other  prominent  names  at  various  times  associated 
with    the    paper   are    those    of    Andrew    Lang,    Richard 


The  Provincial  Press  21 


o 


Jefferies,  J.  M.  Synge,  Corny ns  Carr,  Sir  Claude  Phillips, 
Laurence  Housman,  George  Saintsbury,  Richard  White- 
ing,  and  Spenser  Wilkinson,  to  name  only  a  few  of  the 
most  eminent.  Literary  and  musical  criticisms  are  given 
much  prominence,  and  every  feature  carries  the  stamp  of 
weight  without  heaviness,  which  gives  the  paper  the  influ- 
ence which  everybody  concedes  to  it.  The  history  of  the 
Manchester  Guardian,  particularly  under  Mr.  Scott,  is  a 
continuous  record  of  work  performed  in  accordance  with 
the  highest  principles  of  British  journalism. 

THE   "NEWCASTLE   CHRONICLE  "  AND 
THE  "NORTH   MAIL" 

The  North  Mail  was  established  in  1901  by  Sir 
Arthur  Pearson,  and  was  one  of  a  group  of  modern- 
ised halfpenny  papers  which,  in  conjunction  with  the 
Daily  Express,  were  introduced  into  the  provinces.  A 
big  circulation  was  rapidly  obtained,  and  five  years  later 
the  property  was  acquired  by  the  late  Lord  Furness,  who 
changed  the  political  tone  of  the  North  Mail,  providing 
Newcastle  and  the  democratic  counties  of  Northumberland 
and  Durham  with  a  militant  Liberal  organ.  For  several 
years  Newcastle  Liberalism,  saturated  though  it  was  with 
traditions  of  Joseph  Cowen  and  John  Morley,  had  been 
without  a  Liberal  paper,  and  the  sturdy  North  Mail,  with 
its  breezy  personality,  brought  an  entirely  new  vigour  into 
the  political  affairs  of  the  North-East  Coast.  At  the  1910 
elections  Liberalism  and  Labour  swept  the  board  in 
Northumberland  and  Durham,  with  the  exception  of  two 
constituencies.  In  the  many  triangular  contests  at  subse- 
quent by-elections  Liberalism  invariably  won  the  day, 
enthusiastically  supported  by  the  ardour  with  which  the 
North  Mail  plunged  into  the  fray. 

Edward    Tebbutt,    the    present   editor  and    managing 
director,  was  appointed  by  the  late  Lord  Furness — or  Sir 
Christopher   Furness,    as   he    was   then — when  the   paper 


214  The  Street  of  Ink 

changed  hands.  Mr.  Tebbutt  was  twenty-seven  years 
of  age,  but  he  speedily  justified  the  choice.  He  is  now  one 
of  the  busiest  newspaper  men  in  the  provinces,  being  solely 
responsible  for  editorial  and  managerial  control.  Besides 
writing  most  of  the  political  and  leading  articles,  he  takes 
a  keen  interest  in  advertising,  in  the  scientific  development 
of  which  he  is  a  firm  believer.  He  is  also  well 
known  under  a  nom  de  guerre  as  a  writer  of  popular 
newspaper  fiction,  many  of  his  serial  stories  having 
appeared  in  Great  Britain  and  America. 

The  North  Mail  was  recently  purchased  by  Colonel 
Joseph  Cowen,  the  principal  proprietor  of  the  Newcastle 
Chronicle,  who  is  now  the  chairman  of  the  board.  Miss 
Jane  Cowen  is  another  director,  as  is  Colonel  Joseph  Reed, 
the  general  manager  of  the  Newcastle  Chronicle.  In  spite 
of  acquisition  by  the  older  firm,  the  North  Mail  scrupu- 
lously preserves  its  own  identity,  and  is  conducted  as  an 
entirely  separate  enterprise. 

THE   "  NORTHERN   ECHO  " 

The  Northern  Echo  may,  I  think,  be  regarded  as  the 
first  halfpenny  morning  newspaper  in  England,  as 
although  the  London  Echo,  which  appeared  in  1868,  pre- 
ceded it  by  two  years,  the  latter  was,  of  course,  an  even- 
ing newspaper,  and  its  earliest  edition  did  not  appear  till 
mid-day.  The  Northern  Echo  was  founded  by  Mr.  J. 
Hyslop  Bell,  J. P.,  still  one  of  His  Majesty's  coroners  for 
the  County  of  Durham.  W.  T.  Stead  started  his  brilliant 
career  as  a  member  of  its  staff,  and  became  editor  within 
eighteen  months  of  its  first  appearance.  In  1895  Mr. 
Christopher  (afterwards  Lord)  Furness,  and  Mr.  Edward 
Daniel  (now  Sir  Edward)  Walker,  both  of  whom  were 
associated  in  the  Northern  Echo,  entertained  thoughts  for 
the  acquisition  of  the  paper,  and  Mr.  Walker,  who  has 
often  been  described  as  the  "  W.  H.  Smith  of  the  North," 
became  the  sole  proprietor.      Sir  Edward  Walker  was  an 


The  Provincial  Press  215 

alderman,  and  afterwards  thrice  mayor  of  the  borough  of 
Darhngton.  In  1903  it  became  necessary  for  health 
reasons  that  he  should  relinquish  some  of  his  duties,  and 
the  present  company — the  North  of  England  Newspaper 
Company — was  formed,  Sir  Edward  Walker  retaining  con- 
siderable interest  in  the  concern.  Mr.  Arnold  Rowntree, 
Senior  M.P.  for  York,  was  elected  chairman,  and  the 
directors  were  Alderman  J.  B.  Morrell,  J. P.,  and  Ernest 
Parke,  J. P.  Afterwards  Alderman  C.  W.  Starmer,  J. P., 
who  had  been  managing  the  paper  for  some  years,  and  who, 
like  Sir  Edward  Walker,  became  mayor,  was  appointed 
managing  director.  The  story  of  the  Norther7i  Echo  is 
one  of  progress  and  success,  and  those  responsible  for  its 
conduct  have  played  no  unimportant  part  in  the  develop- 
ment of  a  robust  public  opinion  in  those  north-eastern 
counties  whose  mining,  iron  and  steel,  engineering  and 
shipbuilding  industries  have  contributed  so  largely  to 
Britain's  supremacy. 

Starmer,  who  is  one  of  the  most  progressive  journalists 
in  England  and  a  veritable  Napoleon  of  the  Provincial 
Press,  also  controls  two  other  morning  papers — the 
Sheffield  Independent  and  the  Birmingham  Gazette,  two 
evening  papers — the  Birmingham  Dispatch  and  the 
Northern  Despatch,  and  seven  weekly  newspapers — the 
Sheffield  Weekly  Independent,  the  Birmingham  Illus- 
trated Mercury,  the  Lincolnshire  Chronicle,  the  Derby- 
shire Courier,  the  Yorkshire  Gazette,  the  Auckland  and 
County  Chronicle  and  the  Stanley  News.  I  cannot 
do  more  than  chronicle  his  activities,  which,  however, 
are  well  known.  His  record  needs  no  endorsement  of 
mine,  but  I  may  give  myself  the  personal  gratification  of 
saying  that  during  the  many  years  I  have  known  him  I 
have  always  admired  his  alertness,  his  energy,  and  his 
up-to-date  methods.  He  has  "won  out"  by  sheer  ability, 
and  would  make  a  success  of  almost  anything  he  touched. 
On  November  16,  1916,  he  produced  the  one  hundred  and 


2i6  The  Street  of  Ink 

seventy-fifth  anniversary  supplement  of  the  Birmingham 
Gazette,  which  was  truly  a  wonderful  production. 

The  chairman  of  the  company  owning  the  Birming- 
ham Gazette  series  of  newspapers  is  Mr.  J.  B.  Morrell, 
and  the  managing  editor  is  Mr.  T.  T.  Stanley.  The 
latter  began  his  newspaper  career  on  the  Northern  Echo 
at  Darlington,  and  the  great  work  he  has  put  in  with 
regard  to  the  reorganisation  of  his  newspapers  has  been 
highly  successful.  Mr.  J.  B.  Hobman,  the  editor,  has 
occupied  the  chair  with  distinction  during  the  past  four 
years.  He  is  a  versatile  journalist  of  progressive  views, 
and  was  formerly  assistant  editor  of  the  Sheffield  Inde- 
pendent, which  he  joined  as  a  leader  writer. 

The  Sheffield  Independent,  of  which  Starmer  is 
managing  director,  was  founded  in  October,  1819.  During 
the  course  of  its  successful  career  it  has  absorbed  several 
papers  which  have  enabled  it  to  widen  its  area  of  appeal. 
During  more  than  half  a  century  there  have  been  only 
five  editors,  the  present  occupant  of  the  chair  being 
W.  W.  Chisholm.  He  had  been  a  member  of  the 
literary  staff  since  1880,  and  was  promoted  from  news 
editor  to  editor  in  1909.  W.  T.  Bailey  has  proved  a 
valuable  lieutenant  to  Mr.  Starmer  in  the  management 
of  the  Independent.  Of  the  very  large  general  printing 
business  which  has  been  built  up  and  housed  in 
a  separate  building,  Mr.  T.  Booth  is  in  charge.  At 
no  previous  period  of  its  history  has  the  Independent 
shown  such  steady  progress  as  under  its  present  go-ahead 
management. 

THE   "NOTTINGHAM  DAILY  EXPRESS" 

The  Nottingham  Daily  Express  and  its  allied  paper, 
the  Nottingham  Evening  News,  have  formed  a  very 
strong  training  ground  for  prominent  journalists,  which 
in  itself  indicates  the  enterprise  and  skill  with  which 
these   papers   are    conducted.      Among   those   who  have 


The  Provincial  Press  217 

filled  the  editorial  chair  have  been  Mr.  (now  Sir 
James)  Dod  Shaw  and  John  Derry,  and  graduates 
from  the  office  include  John  Foster  Fraser,  Arthur 
Mee,  J.  A.  Hammerton,  J.  B.  Firth,  of  the  Daily  Tele- 
graph, and  George  Renwick,  of  the  Daily  Chronicle, 
whilst  it  was  with  the  ISoUingham  Journal,  amalgamated 
afterwards  with  the  Express,  that  Sir  James  Barrie  spent  a 
period  of  his  early  career  in  bashful  solitude.  The  papers 
are  ably  conducted  by  A.  Lloyd  Edwards,  who  succeeded 
his  father  in  February,  1916,  and  the  chief  news  editor  is 
H.  A.  S.  Grant. 

THE  "NOTTINGHAM   GUARDIAN" 

The  earliest  of  the  papers  published  from  the  Notting- 
ham Guardian  office  was  the  Nottinghamshire  Guardian, 
of  which  the  initial  number  appeared  on  May  i,  1846.  It 
was  established  by  the  Protectionists,  headed  by  Lord 
George  Bentinck,  to  champion  the  views  of  the  agri- 
cultural interests  in  the  Corn  Law  controversy.  The 
price  was  reduced  to  one  penny  in  1887.  In  1848 
the  company  disposed  of  their  venture  and  responsi- 
bilities to  the  publisher,  the  late  Thomas  Forman,  in 
whose  family  the  proprietorship  has  since  continued. 
The  paper  first  appeared  as  the  Nottingham  Daily 
Guardian  on  July  i,  1861,  and  the  price  has  always  been 
one  penny. 

The  Nottingham  Evening  Post  started  on  May  i,  1878, 
at  a  halfpenny,  and  the  Football  Post  (published  during 
the  football  season)  on  September  5,  1903,  also  at  a  half- 
penny. '  ffj 

Without  going  to  the  extremes  of  the  American  Press, 
the  Guardian  and  associated  papers  are  now  generous  in 
the  use  of  headings,  making  the  pages  bright  and  attractive 
and  yet  dignified.  The  leaders  were  given  headings  some 
years  ago. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  Nottingham  Guardian  was  one 


2i8  The  Street  of  Ink 

of  the  first  papers  in  the  United  Kingdom  to  introduce  the 
hnotype,  two  of  the  very  earHest  machines  being  used 
for  a  period  of  years  before  the  general  installation 
took  place. 

A  great  loss  was  sustained  in  May,  1916,  by  the  death 
of  Mr.  J.  T.  Forman,  J. P.,  the  senior  proprietor,  to  whose 
guiding  hand  and  business  capacity  the  continued  success 
of  the  papers  during  recent  years  has  been  so  largely  due. 

The  Nottmghani  Guardian  has  always  been  staunchly 
Conservative.  In  illustrations  it  has  kept  pace  with  the 
times,  and  now  publishes  a  daily  page  of  pictures.  The 
Weekly  is  a  copiously  illustrated  paper,  with  a  series  of 
cartoons  prominent  on  the  back  page.  In  these  topical 
drawings  also  the  Football  Post  specialises. 

The  success  of  the  papers  may  be  attributed  to  enter- 
prise in  providing  the  best  services  of  foreign  and  general 
news,  attention  to  local  trade  requirements  and  conditions, 
and  provision  for  all  classes  of  readers.  The  aim  has  been 
to  combine  the  advantages  of  a  London  newspaper,  supply- 
ing the  latest  news  up  to  the  hour  of  going  to  press,  with 
those  of  a  journal  catering  especially  for  local  needs. 

As  a  schoolboy,  the  editor  of  the  Guardian, 
Richard  Ivens,  contributed  to  the  Birmingham  Gazette 
during  the  reign  of  Dr.  Sebastian  Evans,  and  thus  laid 
the  foundation  of  a  journalistic  career,  the  last  thirty-two 
years  of  which  have  been  spent  in  his  present  post. 

A.  G.  Smith,  chief  of  the  day  staff,  was  in  at  the 
birth  of  the  Moray  and.  Nairn  Express  (now  more  familiar 
as  the  Northern  Scot)  in  1880,  and  also  served  on  the 
Aberdeen  Journal.  For  over  a  quarter  of  a  century  he 
has  been  associated  with  the  Guardian  and  Evening  Post. 
The  first  sub-editor  of  the  latter  paper,  J.  T.  Garrish, 
recently  returned  to  the  field  of  his  earlier  work  after  hold- 
ing the  chief  sub-editorship  of  the  Globe  for  twenty-five 
years. 

Of    the    younger    members    of    the    editorial    staff, 


The  Provincial  Press  219 

F.  P.  Pointon  is  a  graduate  who  won  double  honours  at 
the  University  of  London,  and  H.  C.  Midwinter  has 
had  charge  of  the  Weekly  Guardian  for  over  twelve  years. 
The  sporting  editor,  J.  A.  Burrow,  w^as  apprenticed 
on  the  Blackburn  Times  and  Preston  Guardian.  After 
serving  in  Lancashire  and  the  Staffordshire  Potteries  he 
received  his  appointment  in  Nottingham  over  twenty-five 
years  ago. 

THE  "SHEFFIELD   DAILY   TELEGRAPH" 

No  more  remarkable  story  was  ever  told  in  the  Street  of 
Ink  than  the  founding  of  the  Sheffield  Daily  Telegraph, 
which,  I  fancy,  will  be  new  to  most  people.  Early  in  1855 
a  rather  dilapidated-looking  Scotsman  named  Benson 
appeared  in  Sheffield  and  called  on  Joseph  Pearce, 
a  printer  and  bookseller  in  High  Street.  He  announced 
his  intention  of  starting  a  penny  morning  paper,  and 
asked  Pearce  to  undertake  the  printing  and  publication. 
When  the  latter  consented  to  do  so,  Benson  organ- 
ised a  band  of  canvassers  and  collectors  to  obtain 
orders  and  subscriptions.  The  first  and  second  days' 
results  were  sufficiently  encouraging  to  warrant  a  start 
being  made.  The  money  received  was  chiefly  copper, 
and  this  being  too  heavy  for  the  table  in  the  room  set 
apart  for  the  Telegraph's  editorial  department,  a  heap 
was  made  on  the  floor  in  one  corner  of  the  room  and 
covered  with  old  newspapers.  The  first  number,  which 
appeared  on  June  8,  1855,  was  a  four-page  paper  con- 
sisting largely  of  extracts  from  London  papers  sent  down 
by  train  or  by  telegraph.  Ten  days  later  Benson  dis- 
appeared. There  was  a  rumour  that  he  had  enlisted  for 
the  Crimean  War,  but  nothing  definite  was  ever  heard  of 
or  from  him  afterwards. 

Mr.  Pearce  carried  on  for  some  years  without  making 
any  great  profit,  until  in  January,  18C4,  Mr.  Frederick 
Clifford,  a  London  barrister  who  was  assistant  editor  of 


220  The  Street  of  Ink 

The  Times,  heard  that  he  was  anxious  to  sell,  and  sug- 
gested the  purchase  to  Mr.   William  Christopher  Leng, 
then   a  journalist  in   Dundee,    with   the  result  that  they 
became  joint   proprietors.     As   Mr.    Clifford  did   not  go 
to  Sheffield,  the  actual  management  of  the  paper  fell  to 
Mr.   Leng,  who  had  a  piece  of  good  fortune,   from  the 
newspaper  point  of  view  (if  one  may  associate  the  words 
"  good  fortune  "  with  a  sad  tragedy),  less  than  three  months 
after  the  new  proprietors  took  the  paper  over.    The  Brad- 
field  dam,  nine  miles  away  from  Sheffield,  standing  many 
hundred   feet   above   the    level   of   the   town,    burst,    and 
millions    of    tons   of    water   came    thundering    down    the 
valley  into  Sheffield.     More  than  two  hundred  lives  were 
lost,  and  a  vast  amount  of  property  w^as  destroyed ;  but 
this    terrible    episode    had   a    wonderful    effect    upon   the 
Shefjield  Daily  Telegraph.     Leng  was  a  writer  of  brilliant 
descriptive    powers,    and    he    made    such    good    use    of 
the  news  that  copies  of  the  paper  were  sent  for  from  all 
over  the  country  both  by  those  interested  in  Sheffield  and 
by  other  new^spapers  seeking  the  best  available  account  of 
the  disaster.       His  enterprise  was  shown  in  other  ways 
which  startled  his  competitors.     On  one  occasion,  in  con- 
nection w^ith  an  execution  at  Leeds,  he  chartered  a  special 
train  to  bring  back  a  couple  of  reporters,  and  thus  out- 
distanced   his    contemporaries   by    several    hours.       His 
partner  in  London  aided  him  with  shrewd  and  wise  advice 
and  suggestions,  and  so  played  his  part  in  securing  the 
success  of  the  joint  enterprise,  but  no  one  will  deny  that 
it  was  chiefly  due  to  Mr.  Leng's  brilliant  powers.     Mr. 
Leng  received  the  honour  of  knighthood  in  1887,  and  died 
in  1904. 

The  property,  which  includes  the  Weekly  Telegraph, 
the  Yorkshire  Telegraph  and  Star,  and  a  number  of  sub- 
sidiary publications,  is  owned  by  a  private  limited  com- 
pany, which  includes  two  sons  of  the  late  Mr.  Frederick 
Clifford  and  two  sons  of  the  late  Sir  William  Leng,   so 


The  Provincial  Press  221 

that  the  proprietorship  is  still  divided  between  the  two 
families.  Three  of  the  proprietors,  Lieut.-Colonel  Charles 
Clifford,  Major  Arthur  Clifford,  and  Mr.  W.  St.  Q.  Leng, 
are  on  active  service,  as  are  Major  Eric  Clifford  and  Lieut. 
Douglas  Leng.  Mr.  C.  D.  Leng  is  managing  director  in 
his  partners'  absence.  The  Sheffield  Daily  Telegraph  is 
well  edited  by  IVIr.  John  Oakley,  under  whose  guidance  it 
worthily  maintains  its  reputation.  His  three  predecessors 
since  Sir  William  Leng  retired  from  the  active  editor- 
ship  about  1895  were  R.  H.  Dunbar,  T.  H.  Parkin, 
and  D.  M.  Sutherland,  the  present  editor  of  the  Pall  Mall 
Gazette. 

The  Yorkshire  Telegraph  and  Star  was  founded  by  the 
proprietors  of  the  Sheffield  Daily  Telegraph  in  1887,  and 
is  edited  by  H.  L.  Cooper,  who  is  responsible  for  one 
of  the  most  popular  features,  a  "By  the  Way"  column, 
which  he  has  conducted  for  nine  years.  Another  popular 
feature  is  "Queries  Answered"  on  legal,  general,  and 
sporting  matters. 

The  Weekly  Telegraph  was  originally  a  local  weekly 
paper.  After  the  Education  Act  in  the  'seventies  had 
added  enormously  to  the  reading  public  it  was  turned  into 
a  penny  weekly  magazine,  and  is  now  one  of  the  leading 
(as  it  was  one  of  the  earliest)  publications  of  its  class,  with 
a  circulation  running  into  hundreds  of  thousands.  The 
editor  is  C.  R.  Simpson. 

Last,  but  by  no  means  least,  the  general  manager 
is  G.  E.  Stembridge,  whose  name  is  known  and  re- 
spected throughout  the  newspaper  world.  It  was  due  to 
his  untiring  efforts  that  the  leading  dailies  discontinued 
publication  on  Christmas  Day,  and  he  unites  w-ith  com- 
mercial ability  and  enterprise  a  gift  of  writing,  which  has 
enabled  him  to  carry  on  editorially  in  times  of  emergency. 
In  1888  Mr.  Stembridge  went  to  Birmingham,  and  whilst 
there  introduced  electricity,  being  the  first  newspaper 
manager  in  the  world  to  print  newspapers  with  that  power 


222  The  Street  of  Ink 

— an  interesting  fact  seeing  that  all  newspapers  are  now 
more  or  less  produced  that  way. 

THE   "SOUTH  WALES   DAILY   NEWS" 

The  South  Wales  Daily  News  (morning),  the  South 
Wales  Echo  (evening),  and  the  Cardiff  Times  (weekly) 
are  the  property  of  Messrs.  David  Duncan  and  Sons, 
Limited,  a  private  company,  of  which  the  shareholders 
are  all  members  of  one  family.  The  Cardiff  Times,  the 
parent  journal,  was  founded  by  the  late  David  Duncan 
in  1857,  the  morning  paper  being  established  in  1872,  and 
the  evening  in  1884.  Mr.  Duncan  took  his  three  sons  into 
partnership,  and  after  his  death  in  1888  the  rapidly  grow- 
ing business  was  in  the  hands  of  the  late  Sir  John  Duncan, 
Mr.  David  Duncan,  and  Mr.  Alex.  Duncan.  David  Dun- 
can, now  the  senior  director,  was  formerly  chairman  of  the 
Press  Association  and  of  the  Newspaper  Society,  and  is  the 
present  chairman  of  the  Southern  Federation  of  Newspaper 
Owners,  as  well  as  a  member  of  the  Admiralty,  War 
Office,  and  Press  Committee. 

The  editorships  of  the  journals  have  always  been  re- 
tained by  the  proprietors.  Since  1888  the  assistant  editor 
has  been  H.  Read,  a  brother  of  my  friend,  Bromley 
Read,  the  chief  sub-editor  of  the  Morning  Post.  The  pre- 
sent manager  and  secretary  is  H.  T.  Thomas,  who  has 
been  with  the  firm  since  1886.  The  manager  of  the 
mechanical  department  is  H.  J.  Wheeler,  who  entered 
the  office  forty-two  years  ago,  having  previously  served  on 
the  London  Sun  and  on  the  Scotsman.  Length  of  service 
has  always  been  a  marked  characteristic  of  the  staff  of 
David  Duncan  and  Sons.  It  is  only  recently  that  there 
died  the  last  surviving  member  of  the  staff  who  brought 
out  the  first  issue  in  1857.  J.  Kelly,  the  chief  col- 
lector, entered  the  service  of  the  firm  in  the  dim  past,  and 
now  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  is  still  a  familiar  face  in  the 
Street  of  Ink^ 


The  Provincial  Press  223 

The  doyen  of  the  editorial  staff  is  Percy  Shuttle- 
wood,  who  came  from  the  Western  Morning  Neivs  in 
January,  18S3.  The  chief  sub-editor  of  the  morning  paper, 
F.  Newling  Jones,  also  joined  from  the  Western  Morn- 
ing News.  The  Echo  is  under  the  control  of  John 
Smurthwaite,  an  old  member  of  the  Northern  Echo  staff, 
although  it  is  twenty-six  years  since  he  left  Darlington. 
Earlier  still  he  was  the  first  chief  reporter  of  the  original 
staff  that  brought  out  the  North  Star.  The  chief  reporter 
is  J.  R.  Stephens,  whose  journalistic  career  of  twenty- 
six  years  has  been  spent  in  Cardiff.  For  many  years  he 
was  responsible  for  the  football  criticisms  which,  over  the 
name  of  "Old  Stager,"  are  authoritative  in  all  matters 
relating  to  the  Welsh  national  game.  Such  notes  are  now 
common  to  all  newspapers,  but  the  South  Wales  Echo  was 
the  first  paper  in  the  country  to  specialise  in  this  way. 

Of  the  leader  writers,  Samuel  C.  Fox  came  to  Car- 
diff twenty-six  years  ago  from  the  Burnley  Gazette.  Mr. 
Fox  has  had  the  happy  experience  of  writing  a  daily 
column  of  notes  on  "every  topic  under  the  sun"  for  an 
unbroken  period  of  over  twenty-three  years. 

James  A.  Walker,  leader  writer  during  the  past 
six  years,  was  previously  sub-editor  and  special  corre- 
spondent on  the  London  Daily  News,  for  three  and  a  half 
years  chief  sub-editor  of  the  Birmingham  Evening  Dis- 
patch, and  four  years  sub-editor,  reviewer,  and  special 
correspondent  of  the  Leeds  Mercury. 

In  London  the  commercial  editor  is  Walter  R. 
Skinner,  who  has  been  connected  with  the  papers  for  the 
last  thirty  years.  The  Lobby  correspondent  is  H. 
Woodward,  who  began  his  journalistic  career  in  Gloucester 
and  South  Wales.  He  left  Cardiff  for  New  Zealand  and 
returned  to  London  to  represent  the  associated  newspapers 
of  that  Dominion.  Then  he  became  connected  with  the 
South  Wales  Daily  News,  which  he  has  now  served  for 
the  past  twenty  years, 


224  The  Street  of  Ink 

THE  "SOUTH   WALES  DAILY   POST" 

Originally  founded  and  a  failure  as  a  Liberal  organ, 
the  property  was  acquired  by  the  Conservatives  twenty- 
two  years  ago.  It  "made  good"  promptly,  in  the  over- 
whelmingly Radical  area  of  South- West  Wales.  Within 
two  years,  in  its  altered  character,  it  was  chiefly  instru- 
mental, according  to  the  public  testimony  of  the  party 
leaders,  in  securing  the  return  to  the  House  of  Commons  of 
Sir  John  T.  D.  Llewelyn,  the  first  Conservative  member  for 
Swansea  Borough.  The  proprietors  made  a  speciality  of 
foreign  politics,  and  the  paper  took  a  strong  line  from  the 
start  in  respect  of  reform  in  municipal  administration. 
From  its  propaganda  emerged  the  Municipal  Reform 
Party,  of  which  the  editor  and  managing  director,  Alder- 
man David  Davies,  now  Mayor  of  Swansea,  was  and  is 
the  leader.  An  outstanding  feature  of  the  Daily  Post  is 
its  activity  in  the  promotion  of  philanthropic  and  patriotic 
funds.  For  nearly  two  years  parcels  have  been  sent  to 
soldiers  from  West  Wales  who  are  prisoners  of  war  in 
Germany,  thousands  of  pounds  having  been  collected 
through  various  kinds  of  entertainment  originated  with  and 
managed  for  the  Daily  Post,  chiefly  by  Mr.  John  Jones, 
the  commercial  manager,  and  Mr.  Hayward,  the  sports 
editor.  The  paper  has  made  good,  and  apparently  has 
made  "Tommy"  feel  good,  too. 

THE  "ULSTER  ECHO" 

The  Ulster  Echo  was  established  in  1874  as  an  evening 
Liberal  newspaper,  and  supported  Mr.  Gladstone  till  he 
introduced  Home  Rule,  since  when  it  has  been  identified 
with  Liberal  Unionism  and  the  Unionist  cause.  Under 
the  same  proprietary  ^nd  editorship  the  Witness,  a  weekly, 
has  been  published  in  the  interests  of  the  Irish  Presby- 
terian Church.  Miss  Beatrice  Grimshaw,  who  has  pub- 
lished many  works  on  her  travels  alone  in  many  parts  of 
the  world  off  the  beaten  track,  began  her  literary  career 


kr.  Hon.  (J.  !•.  (, 

MaSI  KKMAN. 


-in   W.    kOIlERTSON/.    / 


XIV 


The  Provincial  Press  225 

as  a  member  of  the  staff.  Mr.  A.  McMonagle  has  edited 
both  papers  from  the  beginning.  A  column  of  gossip 
and  comment  which  he  contributed  for  many  years,  under 
the  signature  of  "The  Man  in  the  Street,"  has  been  a 
popular  feature  in  each.  Under  the  signature  of  "Southern 
Presbyterian,"  the  Rev.  Dr.  Prenter,  an  ex-Moderator  of 
the  General  Assembly  and  a  leading  member  of  the  Irish 
Presbyterian  Church,  has  contributed  to  the  Witness  a 
series  of  articles  on  public  questions,  which  have  attracted 
attention  by  their  pungency  and  brilliancy. 

THE   "WESTERN   MAIL" 

As  one  would  expect,  among  the  most  enterprising 
and  best-known  provincial  newspapers  is  the  Western 
Mail  of  Cardiff,  with  its  allied  publications,  the  Evening 
Express  and  the  Weekly  Mail.  Sir  George  Riddell  was 
chairman  of  the  board  of  directors  until  he  relinquished 
his  interests  in  1915.  The  present  directors  are  Captain 
D.  Hughes  Morgan,  Emsley  Carr,  of  the  News  of  the 
World  (vice-chairman),  D.  Watkin  Thomas,  the  general 
manager,  and  William  Davies,  the  editor  of  the  company's 
papers.  Emsley  Carr,  by  the  way,  has  acted  as  London 
and  Gallery  correspondent  of  the  Western  Mail  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century. 

William  Davies,  the  editor,  entered  the  service  of  the 
company  as  junior  reporter  in  1888.  He  has  been 
editor  since  1901,  and  the  influence  wielded  by  the  papers 
under  his  supervision  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  Captain 
vScott,  just  before  he  left  for  the  South  Pole  in  1910,  per- 
sonally assured  him  that  the  expedition  could  not  have 
started  when  it  did  but  for  the  assistance  he  had  received 
from  the  Western  Mail.  Watkin  Thomas  has  been 
general  manager  since  1906,  and  has  been  with  the 
Western  Mail  since  1874.  He  is  chairman  of  the  Cardiff 
Master  Printers'  Association.  The  news  editor  is  Gar- 
wood H.  Sutton,  who  began  his  career  on  the  Mail  as 


226  The  Street  of  Ink 

junior  reporter  in  the  Newport  office.  W.  Pegg  is  the 
chief  leader  writer.  Ahhough  haihng  from  Birmingham, 
Mr.  Pegg  knows  Wales  more  thoroughly  than  most 
Welshmen.  The  day  assistant  editor  of  the  Mail  is  F.  J. 
Hodson,  who  entered  the  service  of  the  paper  as  a  boy. 

The  London  office  of  the  Western  Mail  and  Evening 
Express  is  at  176  Fleet  Street.  The  commercial  side  is 
in  charge  of  W.  E.  B.  Lawrence,  and  its  literary  side 
under  Edward  James,  one  of  the  many  Welsh-speaking 
Welshmen  on  the  staff  of  these  papers,  among  others 
being  Elliss  Hughes,  the  chief  reporter  at  Cardiff. 

The  Western  Mail  has  published  a  daily  cartoon 
since  1893.  Its  cartoonist,  J.  M.  Stainforth,  has  been 
with  the  company  for  over  thirty  years,  and  was  prob- 
ably the  first  artist  to  deal  with  Mr.  Lloyd  George  in 
cartoons. 

The  editor  of  the  Evening  Express  is  Charles  A. 
Barnett,  who  is  personally  know^n  throughout  the  wide 
area  in  which  his  paper  circulates.  The  whole  of  the 
Western  Mail  and  Evening  Express  advertisement  depart- 
ment is  under  F.  R.  Rainey,  who  has  been  wuth  the  firm 
for  thirty  years.  A.  H.  Mann,  the  present  editor  of  the 
Evening  Standard,  and  that  capable  journalist,  W. 
Holt  White,  as  well  as  J.  A.  Sandbrook,  editor  of 
the  Calcutta  Englishman,  are  old  members  of  the 
staff. 

THE   "WESTERN   DAILY   MERCURY" 

The  Western  Daily  Mercury,  which  has  taken  rank 
among  the  leading  provincial  morning  journals  and 
become  one  of  the  most  successful  concerns  in  England, 
was  established  at  Plymouth  in  the  summer  of  1861. 
The  founder,  Mr.  Isaac  Latimer,  combined  in  himself 
the  two  essential  elements  of  newspaper  success.  He  was 
at  once  a  born  journalist  and  a  far-seeing  business  man. 
He  was  also  an  able  newspaper  writer,  and  a  still  abler 
judge  of  newspaper  writing.     Charles  Dickens  consulted 


The  Provincial  Press  227 

him  about  some  of  the  appointments  to  the  staff  of  the 
Daily  News  when  he  was  organising  the  paper  with  whicli 
I  have  the  honour  to  be  associated. 

Isaac  Latimer  liad  long  owned  the  Plymouth  Journal, 
one  of  those  vast,  sober,  well  edited  Victorian  weeklies 
which  were  the  solid  pabulum  of  the  steadygoing  pro- 
vinces before  the  telegraph  let  in  upon  them  a  never- 
ceasing  flood  of  news  incapable  of  being  confined  within 
the  narrow  channels  of  the  weekly  Press.  No  sooner  had 
the  Western  Morning  News  been  started  than  Latimer  was 
approached  with  a  request  to  set  up  a  rival.  His  account 
of  the  negotiations  throws  an  interesting  light  on  the 
ideas  current  in  the  early  'sixties  about  the  capitalisation 
of  newspapers. 

"I  knew,"  he  said,  "what  an  immense  responsibility 
the  daily  newspaper  was  and  what  it  involved.  I  was  on 
intimate  terms  with  the  editor  of  the  Morning  Advertiser, 
who  told  me  that  when  it  was  proposed  to  bring  out  the 
Standard  he  considered  that  ^20,000  should  be  handed  to 
him  before  they  set  a  line  of  it." 

Financing  a  provincial  newspaper  in  a  town  then  con- 
taining about  a  hundred  thousand  inhabitants  (it  is  a  quarter 
of  a  million  to-day)  was,  of  course,  a  very  different  story 
from  competing  with  the  long-established  interests  vested 
in  London  daily  journalism.  It  required  no  ;^20,ooo  for 
Latimer  to  begin.  But  he  put  the  whole  of  his  resources 
into  the  enterprise  and  conducted  it  with  rare  nous  and 
power  for  some  thirty  years,  helped  by  a  line  of  clever 
editors  which  included  his  own  brilliant  son,  John  Paddon 
Latimer,  the  late  Edwin  Goadby,  William  Digby  (who 
afterwards  won  fame  in  India),  Henry  Whitfeld,  and 
Robert  Horwill  Walling. 

In  1890  the  Latimer  interest  was  bought  out  by  a  local 
company,  and  the  paper  was  subsequently  acquired  by  the 
late  Mr.  Thomas  Owen,  M.P.  for  North-East  Cornwall, 
who  formed  the  Western  Newspaper  Company.     The  chief 


228  The  Street  of  Ink 

event  of  the  Owen  regime  was  the  foundation  of  the 
Western  Evening  Herald  in  1895.  This  was  an  immediate 
triumph,  and  the  scheme  for  its  estabhshment  was  a 
signal  tribute  to  Mr.  Owen's  clear  perception  of  a 
business  opportunity. 

Upon  the  formation  of  the  Western  Newspaper  Com- 
pany Mr.  Owen  called  to  his  assistance  Mr.  Arthur 
Spurgeon,  J. P.,  then  of  the  National  Press  Agency,  and 
now  managing  director  of  Cassell  &  Co.,  Limited,  as  an 
expert  adviser.  Mr.  Spurgeon  and  his  colleague  at  the 
National  Press,  Mr.  John  Reburn,  were  both  asked  to  join 
the  board  of  directors.  The  latter  has  been  secretary  of  the 
company  from  the  first,  and  Mr.  Spurgeon,  succeeding  to 
the  chairmanship  upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Owen,  has  held 
that  position  ever  since.  Mr.  Spurgeon,  like  Mr.  Latimer, 
is  by  instinct  and  training  a  journalist.  Though  his 
organising  mind  and  his  pow-ers  of  initiative  have  ex- 
tended his  activities  in  many  other  directions,  his  interest 
in  newspaper  work  remains  as  keen  as  when  he  was  serving 
his  articles  on  the  Eastern  Daily  Press,  editing  the 
Lowestoft  Weekly  News,  or  representing  the  National 
Press  Agency  in  the  Gallery  and  the  Lobbies  at  West- 
minster. That  interest  finds  congenial  occupation  in  the 
direction  of  the  newspaper  property  at  Plymouth. 

One  of  the  earliest  acts  of  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  the  ap- 
pointment of  Harry  Jones  to  the  editorship  of  the 
Western  Daily  Mercury.  "H.  J."  was  one  of  "T.  P.'s" 
discoveries.  "  T.  P."  brought  him  up  from  Cardiff, 
where  he  was  a  sub-editor  of  the  South  Wales  Daily  News, 
Jo  take  charge  of  the  Weekly  Sun.  He  afterwards  became 
acting  editor  of  the  Sun.  When  that  evening  luminary 
changed  hands  and  shone  from  the  Conservative  side, 
Jones  resigned,  and  almost  immediately  received  the  ap- 
pointment at  Plymouth.  He  was  very  popular  with  the 
staff,  and  did  uniformly  fine  work  from  1897  onwards  till 
he  resigned  to  take  up  the  post  of  Parliamentary  repre- 


The  Provincial  Press  229 

sentative  of  the  Daily  Chronicle  in  1904.  He  was  succeeded 
as  managing  editor  by  R.  A.  J.  Walling,  who  had 
previously  edited  the  Western  Evening  Herald  since  its 
birth.  He  still  occupies  the  chair.  Mr.  Walling  fills 
an  influential  position  in  the  West  Country,  and  his  sane, 
level-headed  judgment  is  a  great  factor  in  the  public  life 
of  Plymouth.  He  shines  brilliantly  as  an  editor,  as  a 
magistrate,  or  as  chairman  of  the  local  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. He  is  assisted  on  the  Mercury  by  W.  E. 
Linaker  as  leader  writer,  and  by  a  large  and  enthusiastic 
literary  staff.  The  commercial  management  is  in  the 
capable  hands  of  G.  E.  Easterbrook.  Upon  Mr.  Wal- 
ling's  promotion,  the  editorship  of  the  evening  paper 
was  handed  over  to  Mr.  J.  J.  Judge,  who,  after  training  on 
the  Freeman's  Journal,  had  been  associated  with  the  paper 
from  the  beginning.  The  Weekly  Mercury,  a  popular 
illustrated  paper  with  a  large  circulation  in  the  colonies 
and  abroad,  is  edited  by  Mr.  John  Fergusson. 

The  maxim,  faithfully  followed,  which  has  brought  such 
eminent  success  to  the  undertakings  of  the  Western  News- 
paper Company,  is  that  the  business  of  newspapers  is  to 
provide  news.  Every  stage  in  the  amazing  growth  of 
general  news  facilities  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century 
has  been  seized  upon,  and  at  the  same  time  the  utmost  care 
has  been  given  to  the  development  of  the  wide  local  in- 
terests of  the  western  peninsula.  The  naval  and  military 
work,  which  is  of  much  importance,  is  under  the  charge 
of  Mr.  Herbert  Russell,  the  well-known  war  correspondent. 
The  shipping  work  is  also  in  normal  times  a  depart- 
ment in  itself.  With  a  large  area — the  sphere  of  influence 
of  the  Western  Daily  Mercury  extends  from  Taunton  in 
Somerset  to  the  Land's  End,  a  distance  of  two  hundred 
miles — and  a  diversified  population  to  cater  for,  specialisa- 
tion and  departmental  organisation  have  had  to  be  carried 
to  a  high  standard.  The  directors  have  always  seconded 
the  efforts  of  the  staff  in  this  work  of  expansion  and  ex- 


230  The  Street  of  Ink 

:r   -  ^  Teih  ihe  latest  labour-  and  lime- 

i^    : _    r  :  r:':rv  has  been  one  of  deter- 

—  -r.:  f  -  -  .     -  rrdciice,  tempered  by  a  wise 

-  -  -.    „...:     :   h:is  brought   g::.::ijing 

.ri-  :-.  vhaTeg;:_  :     -   n  to  be  proud. 

7--r>r  "Jirers  ii^ve  taken  the  lea.:  .sny  public  move- 

~c-i5.     Thev  rrrss^ri  ::r  vr    ^  -  r  of  the  unifi- 

f  7         r  :   "  e  to  iruidon  in  1914. 

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r     r^  \:  V ~o  loc:^'        -    :         ^    ::    r^   '      ''le  are  due 

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£:         J   7     .:  -       T  re  iJie  Civic  G^^^     *  Hf'n  snd 

:hf  i::~     .  :!f  ?"5:f—  ::  ;-: /'r^v  for  the  ch  --    ~g 

:  '  -  -        ]r       T-T  5      T     :      r:-'5  :hat  have  grown  out 

ci  Isasc  Ls::~rr"5  vr-rjre  have  be::~c    .    .-— hold  words 
i-f  1  —       —  :  Wesc  C:_":r;  has  con- 

::  i^-.zL  5     -     -     h.-.r  -  -  -d  so  much  good  work  to 


THE  -^WESTERN   MORNING   NEWS' 

~'-^  :  •'•:     Morning    V:-_  -    -.?    ;':-:    7     "rer    of 

__.-        ._::       r  7    •-    the   wesier"—:;:    z:::      :    Tzr-nd. 

I:    rrs:     iiir^:   1       "     ^snuanr  3.     :;::  .^itrs 

r    Mrf    W.    Si  5    znd    Mr.    E  ^7      ;:. 


.    ^Lrr..-L    5t    rier,   who    a.?         :  _r    :   r    :n- 

:  :-  :    ":--  i  r:    ;:    :hr  Nf    -T^rv:    S    ::ery. 

-     '  r.  2-  1  ::  —  :he  first 

_  -  -    .   T^i-.      J.  Hcv  \V:_s-r-T  2.         rr   -.  "■?  oetter 

^  :  7-  --      -  -  ~  ==     7   -  7r.vs  to  Ply- 

7    :  :    \  '.-     r^    _7_  >    7-  7M  ri   :he  Central 

~  -----'--          --      -;           7      :    -     ■?'    take 

_  r        T  t7    _:7  ;7     :    „    ^ofk 

:     J  7  :  _^h  stin  keeping  up  his  connection 
utli. 


The  Provincial  Press  231 

Mr.  Edward  Spender  was  the  originator  of  the  "London 
Letter,"  and  gained  such  distinction  in  political  circles 
that  he  was  familiarly  known  by  Parliamentarians  as  "the 
Prince  of  the  Lobby."  Widespread  was  the  feeling  of 
pain  and  sorrow  when  the  threefold  tragedy  of  the  death  of 
himself  and  of  his  two  eldest  sons  whilst  on  a  bathing 
expedition  on  Whit  Sunday,  1878,  became  known. 

"London  Letters"  soon  became  a  popular  and  important 
feature  of  the  provincial  Press,  and  many  of  them  were 
written  by  journalists  whose  names  are  famous  in  the 
Street  of  Ink.  The  extension  of  telegraphic  facilities 
naturally  tended  to  modify  the  personal  note  and  greatly 
enlarged  the  scope  of  London  corresp>ondence. 

Many  prominent  journalists  graduated  in  the  office  of 
the  Western  Mornins:  News.  I  have  alreadv  mentioned 
Mr.  Madge  and  Mr.  Le  Sage,  but  it  will  be  news  to  many 
readers  that  the  latter  earned  the  reputation  of  being  a 
first-class  reporter,  remarkably  rapid  in  transcribing  and 
capable  of  producing  copy  twice  as  fast  as  his  colleagues. 
He  resigned  because  the  chief  reporter  cut  down  his  copy 
in  what  he  termed  a  ridiculous  manner,  and  "was  at  once 
engaged  by  the  Daily  Telegraph,  where  apparently  he 
sees  that  good  writers  do  not  sitffer  as  he  did. 
Mr.  H.  E.  Duke,  K.C.,  the  present  Chief  Secretary  for 
Ireland,  was  on  the  staff  as  reporter  and  descriptive 
writer,  becoming  the  paper's  first  representative  in  the 
Press  Gallery  in  1879,  and  it  was  whilst  so  employed  that 
he  studied  for  the  Bar.  Eventually  he  became  M.P.  for 
Plymouth,  and  also  Recorder. 

Mr.  Xisbet,  to  whom  I  have  already  referred  as 
dramatic  critic  of  The  Times  and  the  "Handbooker"  of 
the  Referee,  attracted  Mr.  Walter's  attention  on  account 
of  his  brilliant  work  for  the  Western  Morning  Xe^s,  and 
T.  McDonald  Rendle,  whom  I  have  mentioned  elsewhere, 
as  well,  ser\-ed  his  articles  as  a  reponer  on  the  same  p>aper. 
Sir  Clement  Kinloch  Cooke  was  for  a  time  the  London 


232  The  Street  of  Ink 

correspondent,  and  I  may  mention  that  the  Western 
Morning  News  was  the  third  provincial  daily  to  establish 
a  London  office. 

Captain  A.  Edmund  Spender,  after  leaving  Oxford, 
where  he  studied  for  the  Bar,  decided  not  to  follow  the 
career  of  a  barrister,  and  after  being  "called"  joined  the 
staff  of  the  Liverpool  Post,  subsequently  taking  up  the 
duties  of  London  manager  of  the  Western  Morning  News. 
He  acted  on  occasion  as  representative  of  The  Times  and 
the  Field,  and  has  been  a  frequent  contributor  to  the 
Windsor  Magazine  and  other  periodicals.  He  succeeded 
Dr.  S.  M.  Russel  Rendle,  his  uncle,  as  managing  director 
in  1900.  In  1902  he  was  chosen  as  one  of  the  special 
delegates  of  the  Moseley  Education  Commission  to  visit 
the  universities  and  schools  in  the  United  States, 
and  his  report  on  the  juvenile  courts  gave  the  first 
stimulus  to  the  introduction  of  this  excellent  system 
in  Great  Britain.  In  1908  he  was  elected  Mayor 
of  Plymouth,  and  it  was  during  his  year  of  office  that  a 
scheme  for  increasing  the  wharfage  of  Plymouth  for  ex- 
tensive commercial  docks  was  heard  before  a  Committee 
of  the  House  of  Lords. 

The  general  manager  and  secretary  of  the  Western 
Morning  News  and  its  allied  papers,  the  Western  Weekly 
News  and  the  Naval  and  Military  Record,  is  Ernest 
Croft,  who  had  previously  been  accountant  of  the  Observer, 
and  subsequently  district  manager  of  the  Sussex  Express 
and  commercial  manager  of  the  Stockport  Advertiser,  and 
of  the  Cheshire  Echo,  which  he  started  while  on  the  latter 
journal.  Under  his  management  the  papers  have  made 
great  strides. 

T.  Canning  Baily,  the  editor  of  the  Western  Morn- 
ing News  since  1902,  had  a  wide  experience  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  from  1870  to  1882.  In  the  latter  year 
he  became  sub-editor  and  leader  writer  on  the  Liverpool 
Courier,  and  eight  years  later  took  up  a  similar  position 


The  Provincial  Press  233 

with  the  Liverpool  Post,  where  he  remained  till  he  joined 
Mr.  Spender.  He  is  a  man  of  varied  tastes,  who  is  highly 
esteemed  among  his  brethren  of  the  Press. 

The  London  correspondent  is  J.  B.  Maxwell,  a  brother 
of  William  Maxwell,  and  the  paper's  commercial  interests 
in  Fleet  Street  are  ably  looked  after  by  A.  Bettany,  whom 
I  have  known  for  many  years,  and  who  is  a  well-known 
figure  in  the  business  circles  of  journalism. 

THE   "  WOLVERHAMPTON   EXPRESS   AND   STAR  " 

The  Express  and  Star  was  acquired  by  the  Midland 
News  Agency  in  1884.  It  caters  for  a  dense  population 
within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles  of  Wolverhampton,  a 
district  which  it  dominates.  Its  main  features  are  essenti- 
ally local.  The  editor  and  staff  are  proud  of  the  fact  that 
the  paper  was  the  means,  by  its  insistent  advocacy,  of 
compelling  the  Corporation  to  widen  Queen  Square,  the 
condition  of  which  had  always  been  an  eyesore  as  well  as  a 
danger  to  pedestrians  and  vehicular  traffic.  Now  it  is  one 
of  the  finest  squares  in  the  Midlands. 

When  the  Wolverhampton  Wanderers  won  the  Eng- 
lish Cup  in  1908,  the  proprietors  of  the  Express  and  Star 
had  a  special  telephone  wire  laid  from  the  Crystal  Palace 
to  the  sub-editorial  room.  By  this  means  thousands  of  en- 
thusiasts who  assembled  in  the  street  in  which  the  office 
is  situate  were  kept  constantly  informed  of  the  changing 
phases  of  the  game,  and  within  a  few  minutes  of  the  end 
of  the  contest  a  full  report  of  the  match  was  on  sale  in 
the  streets  of  the  town.  On  the  occasion  of  the  American 
Cup  races  a  large  map,  with  toy  yachts  mechanically 
manipulated,  was  fixed  outside  the  front  of  the  office,  and 
the  waiting  crowds  were  enabled  to  "watch  the  race,"  the 
movements  of  the  competitors  being  in  conformity  with 
the  cablegrams  received. 

When  the  Duke  of  Connaught  opened  the  Wolver- 
hampton Exhibition  in  IQ02,  the  Express  and  Star  trans- 


234  The  Street  of  Ink 

mitted  the  report  of  the  opening  proceedings,  descriptive 
and  speech-making,  by  telephone  from  its  office  in  the 
grounds  direct  to  the  linotype  operators,  who  were 
equipped  with  telephone  headgear  for  the  occasion.  As  a 
consequence,  when  H.R.H.  took  his  departure  from  the 
town,  shortly  after  the  conclusion  of  the  opening  cere- 
mony, a  representative  of  the  newspaper  was  able  to  pre- 
sent to  the  Duke  copies  of  the  Express  and  Star  containing 
a  report  of  his  speech  and  other  proceedings  at  the 
exhibition. 

During  the  past  twenty  years  quite  a  number  of  the 
members  of  the  literary  staff  have  migrated  to  Messrs. 
Hulton,  of  Manchester.  Two  have  filled  the  position  of 
special  commissioner  of  the  Sunday  Chronicle  and  its 
allied  journals— James  Dunn  and  Peter  J.  Somerville. 
Both  are  now  in  the  Army,  and  prior  to  joining  the 
colours  were  war  correspondents,  the  former  representing 
the  Daily  Mail  at  Rotterdam  for  a  long  period,  and  the 
latter  the  Manchester  Daily  Dispatch  in  France.  Another 
old  member  of  the  staff.  Will  Standring,  is  one  of  Messrs. 
Hulton's  most  valued  sporting  journalists.  The  editor 
of  the  Yorkshire  Observer  (Bradford),  Mr.  Binns,  com- 
menced his  successful  journalistic  career  in  the  Express 
and  Star  office. 

A.  Meikle,  the  editor,  has  been  associated  with  the 
Midland  News  Association,  publishers  of  the  Express  and 
Star,  for  thirty-three  years.  His  wide  experience  in 
journalism  began  with  an  apprenticeship  as  a  com- 
positor on  the  Dunfermline  Press.  Other  members  of  the 
staff  include  B.  W.  Molton,  the  chief  sub-editor,  who 
has  been  connected  with  the  paper  for  twenty^two  years, 
and  of  whom  Mr.  Meikle  speaks  in  the  highest  terms. 
Thomas  Ross  is  a  leader  writer  who  must  be  mentioned, 
and  other  names  to  be  included  are  those  of  H.  J. 
Whittick,  who  has  proved  himself  an  able  special  com- 
missioner, and  William  Small,  at  the  head  of  the  report- 


The  Provincial  Press  235 

ing  staff,  who  has  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  best  all- 
round  journalists  in  the  Midlands. 

THE  "WORCESTERSHIRE   ECHO" 

The  Worcestershire  Echo  is  one  of  the  provincial 
papers  which  has  trained  many  well-known  journalists. 
According  to  W.  G.  R.  Stone,  the  present  editor  and 
manager,  the  keen  learner  has  the  best  of  opportunities  to 
try  his  hand  at  all  kinds  of  press  work.  To  name  a  few,  the 
brothers  Lowndes,  both  of  whom  joined  The  Times  edi- 
torial staff;  T.  Colsey,  assistant  editor  of  Truth;  A.  Roe, 
assistant  editor  of  the  Birmingham  Post;  Herbert  Mum- 
ford,  of  the  Evening  News ;  Horace  Sanders,  some  time  on 
the  Paris  edition  of  the  New  York  Herald;  H.  Martin, 
editor  of  the  London  News  Agency;  Harvey  Marson, 
who  has  edited  Nice  and  Channel  Islands  dailies;  and 
T.  Brown,  who  is  doing  good  free  lance  work  in  Lon- 
don, are  all  old  members  of  the  staff  of  the  Worcestershire 
Echo  and  its  allied  weekly  papers,  the  Worcester  Herald 
and  the  Worcestershire  Chronicle. 

Mr.  Stone  has  edited  these  weeklies  for  twenty-five 
years.  For  fifteen  years  he  has  had  charge  of  the  daily 
issue  as  well,  and  now  is  manager  also.  His  principal 
colleague  on  the  literary  side  is  R.  G.  Perkins,  a 
versatile  journalist,  with  forty-two  years'  record  of  service. 
His  most  important  contribution  in  recent  years  has  been 
a  series  of  papers  bringing  the  history  of  Worcestershire 
institutions  up  to  date.  On  the  commercial  side  E.  J. 
Porter  has  scored  successes  first  with  the  Chronicle  half  a 
century  ago,  and  later  with  the  other  two  papers  forming 
the  present  "combine," 

THE    "YORKSHIRE   POST" 

The  Yorkshire  Post  was  founded  in  July,  i8C6,  and 
a  great  deal  of  its  success  was  due  to  the  ability  and 
persistent  effort  of  the  late  Mr.  William  Beckett,   M.P., 


236  The  Street  of  Ink 

who  was  the  first  chairman.  Since  Mr.  Beckett's  death 
in  1890,  it  has,  however,  experienced  steadily  increasing 
success  under  his  able  successor.  Lord  Faber. 

The  Yorkshire  Post  has  always  been  fortunate  in  its 
editors.  The  names  which,  I  suppose,  are  best  known  in 
Newspaper  land  are  those  of  Mr.  C.  Pebody,  who  became 
editor  in  1882,  Mr.  H.  J.  Palmer,  who  was  appointed  in 
1890,  and  Mr.  J.  S.  R.  Phillips,  who  was  Mr.  Palmer's 
chief  assistant  for  many  years  until  he  succeeded  him 
in  1903.  Mr.  Phillips  for  over  thirteen  years  combined 
the  offices  of  leader  writer  and  assistant  editor,  and  has 
the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  most  competent  and 
most  rapid  of  writers.  He  thinks  nothing  of  writing  his 
leader  an  hour  before  the  paper  goes  to  press.  In  Vol. 
XIV.  of  the  "Cambridge  History  of  English  Literature" 
is  an  article  by  him  on  "The  Growth  of  Journalism." 

No  word  is  needed  concerning  the  influence  and  prestige 
of  the  Yorkshire  Post,  or  of  the  respect  in  which  it  is  held 
by  journalists,  but  some  mention  should  be  made  of  the 
men  who  with  Mr.  Phillips  are  responsible  for  maintaining 
its  reputation.  His  chief  assistant  is  James  Sykes,  an 
ex-president  of  the  Institute  of  Journalists,  and  he  is  also 
assisted  by  his  eldest  son,  E.  R.  Phillips,  B.A.  (Balliol 
College,  Oxon.).  Charles  Hammond  has  for  nearly 
twenty-four  years  occupied  the  onerous  post  of  chief  sub- 
editor. J.  E.  Thornton  has  been  commercial  manager 
since  1904,  and  L.  Howarth  and  W.  H.  Scott  have 
upwards  of  thirty-six  and  thirty  years'  service  respectively 
on  the  literary  side. 

The  Yorkshire  Post  has  always  made  a  feature  of  com- 
mercial intelligence.  Its  City  office  is  in  Cannon  Street, 
where  W.  H.  Hackett  has  looked  after  its  interests  for 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

The  Parliamentary  sketch,  a  brightly  written  and  in- 
teresting feature,  is  the  work  of  R.  L.  Dixon,  while  its 
Lobby  correspondent  is  Gilbert  Watson. 


The  Provincial  Press  237 

The  London  editor  is  F.  Hinde,  barrister-at-law,  who 
prior  to  his  removal  to  London  in  1893  "^^'^s  the  chief  sub- 
editor at  Leeds.  He  is  a  well-known  member  of  the 
Institute  of  Journalists,  having  succeeded  the  late  Sir 
Douglas  Straight  as  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee, and  is  very  highly  respected  in  the  Street  of  Ink. 

Recently  the  chief  sub-editor  at  the  London  office, 
J.  J.  Fretwell,  died  after  thirty-six  years'  service  on  the 
paper.  The  chief  members  of  the  sub-editorial  staff  in 
London  are  J.  H.  Hatfield  and  T.  N.  Parkin. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE    ILLUSTRATED    PAPERS 

THE   "ILLUSTRATED   LONDON   NEWS" 

The  Illustrated  London  News,  the  pioneer  of  illustrated 
newspapers,  was  started  by  Herbert  Ingram  in  1842,  and 
was  the  outcome  of  his  observation  and  courage.  He  was 
a  printer,  bookseller  and  newsagent  at  Nottingham.  In 
1840  one  of  the  newspapers  published  the  portrait  of  a 
murderer.  There  was  a  huge  demand  for  it,  and  Ingram 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  if  this  was  the  result  of 
printing  one  picture  there  would  be  certain  popu- 
larity for  a  weekly  paper  giving  a  regular  supply  of 
pictures. 

Among  those  whom  he  consulted  was  Henry  Vize- 
telly,  who  suggested  some  improvements  on  Mr.  Ingram's 
original  idea.  The  paper  was  mapped  out,  and  the 
Illustrated  London  Neivs  was  duly  born.  The  first  number 
had  a  sale  of  about  20,000,  and  contained  some  twenty 
illustrations,  which  is  about  a  hundred  fewer  than  are 
given  in  a  normal  issue  to-day.  By  185 1  the  sale  of  the 
Illustrated  London  News  had  increased  to  130,000  weekly. 
Under  the  guidance  of  Sir  William  Ingram  the  paper 
maintained  the  prosperity  it  retains,  and  it  was  he  who 
appointed  Mr.  Clement  Shorter  to  the  editorship. 

Among  the  great  war  artists  of  the  Press,  the  names 
of  William  Simpson,  Melton  Prior,  and  Frederic  Villiers 
stand  out  pre-eminently.  The  first  two  names  are  asso- 
ciated with  the  Illustrated  London  News,  while  that  of 
Villiers  is  more  usually  identified  with  the  Graphic. 
Nor  must  H.  C.  Seppings  Wright  and  Julius  M.  Price 

238 


The  Illustrated  Papers  239 

be  forgotten.  On  the  literary  side  a  most  popular  feature 
is  the  "Notebook,"  which  has  been  written  by  such 
famous  people  as  James  Payn,  George  Augustus  Sala, 
Louis  Austin,  and  G.  K.  Chesterton. 

Scope  of  an  Illustrated  Weekly. — In  normal  times 
the  Illustrated  London  News  covers  every  ground  and 
deals  in  drawing  and  photographic  form  with  the  pictorial 
news  of  all  the  world,  apart  from  regular  illustrations  and 
articles  on  such  topics  as  archaeology  and  the  various  arts. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Illustrated  London  News 
was  the  pioneer  in  Great  Britain  of  rapid  photogravure 
printing  for  illustrated  newspapers,  a  form  of  reproduction 
which  is  effectively  and  regularly  used  in  the  Illustrated 
London  News,  the  Sketch,  and  the  Illustrated  War  News. 
The  Illustrated  London  News  was  also  the  first  paper  in 
England  to  reproduce  in  colour  direct  from  natural  colour 
photographs,  and  many  beautifully  printed  coloured  pic- 
tures have  appeared  in  its  columns.  It  has  always  made  a 
speciality  of  special  numbers  dealing  with  outstanding 
events. 

I  may  mention  here  that  the  first  number  of  the  Sketch 
appeared  on  February  i,  1893,  ^^^  was,  of  course,  the 
pioneer  of  a  very  agreeable  type  of  illustrated  paper. 
After  the  death  of  Mr.  John  Latey,  the  Sketch  was  edited 
for  some  time  by  Keble  Howard,  whose  weekly  contribu- 
tion under  the  name  of  "Chicot"  has  long  been  one  of  its 
outstanding  features. 

The  managing  director  of  the  Illustrated  London 
News  and  Sketch,  Ltd.,  is  Mr.  Charles  Ingram,  who  is  a 
son  of  the  founder.  He  is  the  younger  brother  of  Sir 
William  Ingram,  who  has  now  practically  retired  from 
the  business.  The  editor  of  the  three  papers  is  Mr. 
Bruce  Ingram,  the  grandson  of  the  founder  and  Sir  Wil- 
liam's second  son.  Mr.  Ingram,  who  has  been  with  the 
firm  since  1899,  is  also  a  director  of  the  associated 
weeklies,  the  Illustrated  Sporting  and  Dramatic  News  and 


240  The  Street  of  Ink 

the  Lady's  Pictorial.  He  is  on  active  service,  and  the 
assistant  editor,  Ernest  Hope  Goddard,  whom  I  have 
known  and  whose  upward  climb  I  have  watched  for  many- 
years,  is  ably  acting  for  him  in  his  absence.  Mr.  Goddard 
joined  the  firm  in  1900. 

It  was  in  1890  that  Clement  Shorter  first  joined  Sir 
William  Ingram's  staff.  Like  my  friend  James  Douglas, 
he  was  born  with  a  mental  thirst  for  literature,  and 
whilst  still  a  youth  had  read  enough  good  books  to 
satisfy  an  average  man  for  his  whole  life.  Young 
Shorter  did  not  seem  to  think  of  writing  about  books. 
He  adopted  the  Civil  Service  for  a  career,  and  but 
for  a  fortunate  accident  might  have  been  in  the  Service 
still,  although  I  think  he  would  have  become  a  dis- 
tinguished writer  all  the  same.  Happily,  he  was 
destined  for  editorship  and  fate  directed  his  footsteps 
into  journalism  at  an  early  age.  It  happened  that  young 
Henry  Massingham,  whose  father  was  part  owner  of  the 
Eastern  Daily  Press  and  Norfolk  News,  came  to  London 
in  order  to  try  his  luck,  having  as  a  stand-by  the  writing 
of  a  weekly  letter  for  the  latter  paper.  He  called  on  his 
friend  Shorter  at  Somerset  House  (they  were  both  from 
Norwich),  and  later  when  his  health  broke  down  and  he 
was  ordered  abroad  for  three  months,  he  arranged  for 
the  latter  to  deputise  for  him.  In  due  course  he  returned 
to  his  work  and  Shorter  became  wholly  a  Civil  Service 
clerk  once  more.  A  year  or  two  later  when  Massingham 
was  engaged  by  "T.  P."  as  assistant  editor  of  the  Star, 
one  result  was  that  Clement  Shorter  was  invited  to  write 
a  book  causerie,  for  which  he  was  paid  a  guinea  a 
week.  It  was  mainly  the  good  work  that  he  did  for  the 
Star  which  prompted  Sir  William  Ingram  to  invite  him 
to  assist  John  Latey,  Junior,  in  editing  the  Penny 
Illustrated  Paper  in  combination  with  his  Civil  Service 
work,  and  six  months  afterwards,  following  twelve  years 
in  the  Civil  Service,  he  embraced  journalism  as  his  sole 


xv 


The  Illustrated  Papers  241 

profession  by  becoming  editor  of  the  Illustrated  London 
Ne'ws. 

Before  I  go  on  I  should  like  to  relate  a  story  which  was 
told  me  on  the  best  authority,  because  it  illustrates  Mr. 
Shorter's  passion  for  literature.  According  to  my  in- 
formant he  was  dining  with  a  multi-millionaire,  and  after 
dinner  was  shown  his  host's  treasures.  There  was  a  mag- 
nificent collection  of  pictures  representing  an  outlay 
running  into  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pounds.  "They 
are  very  beautiful,"  remarked  the  guest  with  appreciation, 
and  a  similar  judgment  was  passed  on  the  china,  which 
likewise  had  cost  a  considerable  fortune.  After  viewing 
such  treasures,  he  turned  to  his  host  and  inquired,  "And 
where  is  your  library?"  It  was  the  one  thing  missing 
and,  from  his  point  of  view,  necessary. 

It  is  hardly  surprising  that  whilst  Clement  Shorter 
has  been  a  pioneer  in  the  development  of  pictorial  journal- 
ism, he  has  never  neglected  the  literary  tastes  of  the 
public.  We  should  indeed  be  the  poorer  without  his 
weekly  book  article  in  the  Sphere. 

His  work  shows  him  to  be  a  man  of  enterprise 
and  energy,  and  his  career  denotes  that  he  knows 
when  and  how  to  push  himself  forward.  No  better  in- 
stance could  be  given  of  assurance  and  ambition  than 
the  incident  which  marked  the  turning  point  in  his  career. 
He  was  only  thirty-one  years  of  age,  and  his  journalistic 
experience  was  limited  to  two  years'  part-time  work,  when 
John  Latey,  Senior,  who  was  then  eighty  years  of  age, 
was  pensioned  ofT,  and  the  editorship  of  the  lUusfrated 
London  Neivs  was  offered  to  Charles  Morlev.  He 
refused  it,  and  Sir  William  Ingram  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  be  his  own  editor  when  he  received  a  visit 
from  young  Shorter,  who  said  that  he  had  heard  that 
Mr.  Latey  was  going  and  assumed  there  would  be  a 
vacancy.  Sir  William  inquired  if  he  was  applying  for 
the   position   of  assistant  editor,   and  received   the  some- 

Q 


242  The  Street  of  Ink 

what  astonishing  reply  that  the  young  man  wanted  the 
editorship.  He  proceeded  to  argue  the  point,  and  gave 
good  enough  reasons  for  his  application  to  convert  the 
proprietor  to  his  way  of  thinking.  His  friends  (as  is  the 
case  with  friends)  were  amazed  at  his  daring,  but  I  think 
he  had  already  performed  his  most  difficult  task,  and 
can    quite    understand   Sir   William's   confidence    in    him 

thereafter. 

THE   "SKETCH" 

How  THE  "Sketch"  was  Started. — Mr.  Shorter  did 
not  have  things  all  his  own  way,  and  this  was  just  as 
well  perhaps,  as  it  led  to  the  starting  of  the  Sketch. 
This  brings  me  to  another  good  story.  Shorter  ordered 
a  portrait  of  Chevalier  for  insertion  in  the  Illustrated 
London  News,  but  Sir  William  happened  to  see  it  before 
the  page  was  printed  and  promptly  cancelled  it.  No 
arguments  Avould  move  him  owing  to  the  aversion  he 
then  had  from  music-halls  and  his  disinclination  to  be 
the  means  of  persuading  people  to  patronise  them.  The 
matter,  however,  did  not  rest  there.  One  evening,  after 
dining  with  Sir  William,  Shorter  proposed  they  should 
inspect  one  of  the  music-halls,  and  after  some  persuasion 
Sir  William  agreed.  The  pair  proceeded  to  the  Empire, 
and  the  artful  young  man  improved  the  occasion  by  im- 
pressing upon  him  the  innocence  of  the  entertainment  and 
the  nightly  pleasure  it  gave  to  thousands  of  workers. 
Under  the  spell  of  his  eloquence.  Sir  William  agreed  that 
very  evening  that  Shorter  should  produce  a  weekly  paper 
appealing  to  that  particular  public,  provided  nothing  about 
theatres  and  music-halls  appeared  in  the  staid  Illustrated 
London  Ne%vs.  He  was  given  a  free  hand  with  the  Sketch, 
and  made  an  innovation  by  producing  the  first  journal  of 
the  kind  illustrated  throughout  by  means  of  process  blocks. 
He  was  assisted  from  the  first  number  by  J.  M.  Bulloch, 
who  was  with  him  for  eighteen  years  before  he  became 
editor  of  the  Graphic.     Mr.  Shorter  paid  him  a  generous 


The  Illustrated  Papers  243 

compliment  when  he  coupled  him  with  Percy  Home  and 
told  me  that  the  "two  colleagues  to  whom  I  am  most 
grateful  are  Mr.  J.  M.  Bulloch  and  Mr.  Percy  Home,  who 
is  now  assistant  editor  of  the  Sphere." 

THE   "SPHERE" 

After  ten  years  with  Sir  William  Ingram,  Clement 
Shorter  struck  out  on  his  own  account  at  the  suggestion 
of  George  King.  Lord  Northcliffe  had  introduced  him 
to  Hugh  Spottiswoode,  and  backed  by  the  famous  print- 
ing firm  of  Eyre  &  Spottiswoode,  the  Sphere  was  duly 
launched  in  1900.  It  had  another  great  asset  in  King, 
who  had  scored  a  big  success  with  the  Sketch,  and  whose 
business  ability  made  him  an  admirable  complement  to 
his  editorial  colleague. 

King,  I  might  mention,  is  by  way  of  being  a  journalist 
himself.  As  proof  of  his  versatility  I  need  only  recall 
the  fact  that  23  years  ago  he  won  a  prize  of  ^500 
offered  by  Tit-Bits  for  the  best  essay  on  old-age  pensions, 
and  has  made  other  contributions  to  the  Press.  He  is  also 
chairman  of  the  Architect  and  Builder  journals  and  of 
the  Architectural  Review. 

Their  plans  were  well  laid,  a  capital  of  ;^  100,000  was 
obtained  with  Hugh  Spottiswoode's  help,  and  the  Sphere 
was  started  in  the  midst  of  the  South  African  war. 
King  was  mainly  instrumental  in  the  selection  of  the 
several  artists  who  went  out  to  South  Africa,  and  whose 
contributions  so  largely  assisted  in  the  success  which  the 
Sphere  attained  from  the  outset  of  its  career. 

The  paper  may  be  said  to  have  been  a  financial 
success  from  the  start.  I  am  told  that  King's  bold  policy 
of  insisting  from  the  first  on  the  same  rates  for  the 
Sphere  as  those  obtained  by  its  older  contemporaries, 
the  Illustrated  London  News  and  the  Graphic,  no  doubt 
largely  contributed  to  this  achievement.  The  acquisi- 
tion   of    Black    and     White,    and    its    absorption    in    the 


244  The  Street  of  Ink 

Sphere,  added  further  circulation,  which  brought  the  latter 
journal  alongside  of  its  older  contemporaries. 

Percy  Home,  who  is  Mr.  Shorter's  righthand  man,  left 
the  St.  James's  Budget  to  join  him  in  1899.  "  It  was  a 
pleasant  office,"  he  says.  "  The  presence  of  my  col- 
league, J.  M.  Bulloch,  and  his  criticisms  of  life,  always 
pungent  and  concise,  added  as  it  were  a  kind  of  curry  to 
the  daily  rice  of  drawings,  photographs  and  columns  of 
type." 

A  special  feature  which  rapidly  developed  itself  was 
the  use  of  the  diagrammatic  drawing.  The  first  which 
Home  did  for  the  Sphere  was  one  showing  a  sectional 
view  of  the  tube  railways  under  the  roadway  in  front  of 
the  Mansion  House.  These  tubes  were  then  in  course  of 
construction,  and  after  a  visit  to  the  railway  level  and 
much  climbing  on  dizzy  ladders  in  the  lift  shafts,  and  pon- 
dering over  blue  prints,  he  constructed  a  sectional  view 
such  as  the  public  could  follow  at  a  glance.  The  drawing 
was  the  precursor  of  many  similar  efforts  which  dealt  with 
current  science  or  mechanics,  the  subjects  ranging  from 
Kapteyn's  theory  of  the  movement  of  the  stars  to  a  sec- 
tional view  of  the  Hippodrome  stage  and  its  floodable  arena. 
He  believes,  by  the  way,  that  he  was  responsible  for  giving 
the  British  public  the  first  popular  diagrammatic  views 
explaining  the  construction  of  Zeppelins  and  aeroplanes. 
These  special  pages  led  to  special  supplements  printed 
on  art  paper,  in  the  preparation  of  which  Home  travelled 
far  and  wide,  visits  to  Li^ge,  Milan,  and  Stockholm  giving 
him,  so  he  told  me,  special  pleasure  and  interest. 

The  Sphere  has  scored  many  notable  successes  with 
war  photographs.  The  work  of  James  Hare  and  Bulla  in 
the  Russo-Japanese  War,  and  of  Hare  in  the  Balkan  War 
are  fresh  within  the  recollections  of  the  workers  in  the 
Street  of  Ink.  As  Home  puts  it,  "The  pleasure  of  opening 
a  packet  of  '  Jimmy  Hare's  '  prints  hot  from  Liaoyang 
has  seldom  been  equalled  in  our  history."     It  was  at  this 


The  Illustrated  Papers  245 

period  that  the  Sphere  initiated  the  practice  of  enlarg- 
ing small  photographs  up  to  the  size  of  a  double  page. 
There  was  no  question  of  searching  through  Hare's  list 
for  a  "possible  double."  One  was  embarrassed  by  a  multi- 
tude of  "possible  doubles,"  as  the  slang  of  a  weekly  news- 
paper office  has  it. 

Difficulties  and  Disappointments. — From  the  time 
of  these  two  men,  the  camera  has  been  effectively  wielded 
by  a  growing  list  of  correspondents  who  have  acted  for 
the  Sphere.  They  have  met  with  increasing  difficulties, 
notably  in  Bulgaria  during  the  war  of  the  Balkan  Alliance. 
In  this  case  the  restrictions  were  extraordinarily  severe. 
It  could  be  seen  how  Hare  fretted  and  fumed  in  the  few 
letters  he  succeeded  in  sending  back  to  the  Sphere.  The 
general  experience  in  that  campaign  was  to  dispatch  a  corre- 
spondent to  the  Balkans — there  would  be  the  usual  last 
meeting  in  the  Sphere  office,  a  parting  handshake  and 
wishes  for  good  luck — then  silence — long  and  utter.  On 
the  Turkish  side  the  men  fared  better.  The  break-up  of 
the  Press  camp  owing  to  the  onrush  of  the  Bulgarian 
Army  at  Lule  Burgas  gave  the  pen  and  camera  men  a 
chance  of  which  they  readily  availed  themselves.  Some 
of  the  most  striking  war  photographs  which  have  appeared 
in  the  Sphere  were  obtained  during  the  Turkish  retreat. 

During  the  early  days  of  the  Sphere  the  number  of 
photographs  obtained  week  by  week  was  small,  and  it  was 
necessary  to  send  a  special  photographer  to  any  function 
or  place  to  be  sure  of  getting  photographic  pictures. 
Nowadays,  the  photographic  agencies  cover  well-nigh 
every  event  of  importance  and  there  is  no  anxiety  about  a 
dearth  of  material,  although  successful  scoops  are  not 
secured  this  way,  but  are  still  reserved  for  editorial  ability. 
The  Sphere  has  also  shown  considerable  enterprise  in 
dealing  with  Polar  exploration,  and  the  publication  of  a 
Scott  memorial  number  showing  the  actual  photographs 
taken  at  the  Pole  had  an  exceptional  sale. 


246  '  The  Street  of  Ink 

Some  Eminent  Artists. — Among  the  artists  who  have 
found  pubHc  favour  and  done  good  work  for  the  Sphere 
are  John  Duncan,  G.  H.  Davis,  Christopher  Clark, 
Douglas  Macpherson,  R.  M.  Paxton,  and  Philip 
Dadd,  who  died  at  the  front.  There  are  also  F. 
Matania,  a  delightful  artist,  whose  pictures  are  uni- 
versally admired,  and  who  represented  the  Sphere  at  the 
great  Coronation  Durbar  in  India  and  sent  home  a  series 
of  brilliant  drawings,  and  H.  M.  Paget,  who  scored  a 
distinct  success  at  the  time  when  the  kindly  Nazim  Pasha 
was  assassinated  in  Constantinople.  He  had  been  repre- 
senting the  Sphere  in  the  Ottoman  capital  for  a  while, 
and  was  the  only  newspaper  artist  in  the  city  at  the 
time  of  the  murder.  By  means  of  a  visit  to  the  scene  he 
was  able  to  reconstruct  the  whole  incident  in  a  very  telling 
fashion,  and  his  drawing,  which  appeared  on  a  double- 
centre  page,  was  the  only  pictorial  record  of  the  event. 

The  art  department  of  the  Sphere  is  under  the  super- 
vision of  Henry  Wisdom,  "whose  knowledge  of  newspaper 
callers"  (according  to  Home,  whose  assistant  he  is)  "is 
wide  and  peculiar."  For  him,  as  for  Mr.  Home,  Mr. 
Shorter  always  expresses  a  very  deep  affection  and  regard, 
and  he  has  pleasant  memories  of  David  Williamson,  J.  D. 
Symon,  and  Arthur  Hutchinson,  now  the  editor  of  the 
Windsor  Magazine,  who  was  associated  with  him  on  the 
Illustrated  London  News. 

I  must  not  conclude  this  reference  to  the  Sphere  without 
again  mentioning  the  man  who  helped  to  found  it  and 
the  Tatler.  Hugh  Spottiswoode  was  one  of  the  most 
delightful  men  I  have  met  during  my  pilgrimage  in  the 
Street  of  Ink.  He  literally  bubbled  over  with  the  milk 
of  human  kindness.  To  meet  him  was  to  enjoy  a  mental 
tonic,  and  when  he  was  not  radiating  cheerfulness  in  the 
social  circle,  he  was  devising  means  to  help  his  less  fortu- 
nate brethren.  Printers'  Pie  was  founded  by  him  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Printers'  Pension,  and  the  annual  dinners, 


The  Illustrated  Papers  247 

at  which  I  was  regularly  his  guest,  were  a  constant  delight 
which  I  sadly  miss.  His  work  in  this  connection  is  being- 
carried  on  successfully  by  his  widow,  so  his  labours  on 
behalf  of  his  fellow-workers  continue  to  remind  us  of  him 
and  to  be  a  monument  to  his  sterling  character. 

THE   "GRAPHIC" 

When  I  began  my  own  business  career  the  Illustrated 
London  News  and  the  Graphic  were  practically  the  only 
papers  which  gave  the  public  a  pictorial  record  of  the  great 
events  that  were  happening  all  over  the  world.  People 
had,  in  those  days,  to  wait  until  the  end  of  the  week  to  see 
what  was  going  on,  although  they  could,  of  course,  read 
all  the  news  in  the  dailies. 

One  far-seeing  man  seems  to  have  anticipated  the 
possibilities  of  the  daily  illustrated  newspaper.  This  was 
Mr.  W.  L.  Thomas,  the  principal  founder  of  the  Graphic, 
who  started  the  Daily  Graphic  in  1889,  and  so  became 
the  pioneer  of  London  daily  picture  newspapers. 

Mr.  W.  L.  Thomas  died  in  the  year  igoo,  from  which 
date  to  1907  the  businesses  were  conducted  mainly  by  his 
sons,  with  the  eldest,  Mr.  Carmichael  Thomas,  as  chair- 
man of  the  board  of  the  publishing  company  (H.  R. 
Baines  and  Co.).  In  1907  a  practically  new  board  was 
elected,  of  whom  Mr.  Carmichael  Thomas  (chairman),  Mr. 
Alan  Lupton,  Mr.  Israel  Davis,  and  Mr.  Alfred  Hunter 
are  the  surviving  members.  The  new  board  reorganised 
the  office,  and  in  191 1  Mr.  William  Will  was  appointed 
manager  of  the  business  of  the  company.  In  1915  this 
energetic  and  able  journalist  was  made  a  director,  while 
retaining  the  general  duties  of  management.  There  are 
about  250  shareholders,  some  of  them  well-known  artists 
or  writers.  Mr.  Macfarlane,  a  Scotsman  of  long  experi- 
ence and  distinction,  is  the  publisher  of  the  three  papers; 
Mr.  George  Sparkes,  the  advertisement  manager  of  the 
Graphic    and    Bystander,    has   worked    with    the   firm    for 


248  The  Street  of  Ink 

fourteen  years,  while  Mr.  John  Warburton  has  for 
eight  years  been  chief  of  the  Daily  Graphic  advertisement 
staff. 

The  Graphic  was  started  in  December,  1869,  and  has 
always  had  a  most  distinguished  staff  of  contributors.  Of 
one  of  these,  Sir  John  Millais,  I  can  record  an  interesting 
reminiscence.  His  celebrated  picture,  "Cherry  Ripe," 
which  achieved  great  popularity  as  a  print,  first  appeare'd 
in  the  Graphic,  and  this  is  how  it  happened.  Mrs.  W.  L. 
Thomas  one  day  gave  a  fancy  dress  juvenile  ball,  and  her 
husband  was  so  pleased  with  the  attractive  appearance  of 
his  little  niece,  Edith  Rammage,  that  he  took  her  the  next 
day  to  Sir  John  to  be  painted  in  her  costume.  Soon  after 
the  picture  was  published  they  received  a  prepaid  wire 
asking  if  the  mother  of  the  child  was  a  widow  !  One  has 
not  space  to  give  the  long  list  of  names  of  famous  artists 
whose  work  has  appeared  in  the  Graphic,  but  among  the 
"Giantsof  the 'Sixties"  who  contributed  to  its  early  success 
were  Sir  H.  Herkomer,  Henry  Woods,  Caldecott,  Sir  Luke 
Fildes,  and  Seymour  Lucas.  The  series  of  Shakespearean 
heroines  and  types  of  beauty  engaged  the  brushes  of  Lord 
Leighton,  Alma  Tadema,  F.  R.  Dicksee,  Sir  Edward 
Poynter,  Carolus  Duran,  Tissot,  and  many  other  Euro- 
pean celebrities,  while  later  the  sketches  of  Jacomb  Hood, 
the  Graphic  artist  who  accompanied  the  King  to  India 
for  the  Coronation  Durbar,  formed  the  official  pictorial 
record  of  the  proceedings  which  is  now  in  the  possession 
of  His  Majesty.  Recently  a  great  success  has  been  won 
with  the  portraits  of  M.  Guth,  the  famous  Paris  artist, 
who  secured  a  sitting  from  Lord  Kitchener  and  produced 
the  last  portrait  of  him  just  in  time  to  be  issued  at  his  death. 
As  a  result  Guth  was  allowed  to  draw  pictures  of  the  French 
Ambassador,  of  General  Haig  at  headquarters,  and  other 
notabilities.  These  are  printed  in  photogravure,  which  is 
now  used  extensively  by  the  Graphic. 

Graphic   artists   have   accomplished    much    interesting 


The  Illustrated  Papers  249 

work  during  the  war.  JNl.  J.  Wladimiroff  has  performed 
distinguished  service  with  the  Russian  armies,  and  at  an 
exhibition  which  he  held  in  Petrograd  a  number  of 
his  sketches  were  purchased  by  the  Tsar  and  Tsarina, 
who  are  subscribers  to  the  journal.  Van  Anroy  in 
Belgium,  Hoynck  in  Holland,  and  Gilbert  Holiday  in 
France,  have  sent  some  very  spirited  drawings,  while 
Georges  Scott  and  Paul  Renouard  and  many  others  have 
continued  their  long  connection  with  the  paper. 

The  biggest  success  of  recent  years  has  been  "The 
Great  Sacrifice,"  originally  published  in  the  Graphic 
Christmas  number  of  1914,  from  the  picture  of  James 
Clark.  There  has  been  an  enormous  demand  for  the 
photogravure  and  coloured  proofs.  The  Queen  gave  a 
copy  of  this  picture  to  South  Hackney  Church  as  a 
memorial  of  her  visit  to  the  district,  and  Stephen  Paget 
wrote  of  it  in  the  Cornhill  Magazine — "that  picture  from 
the  Christmas  number  of  the  Graphic  which  has  turned 
railway  bookstalls  into  wayside  shrines;  the  one  and  only 
picture  of  the  war,  up  to  now,  which  says  what  most  needs 
to  be  said  on  canvas." 

J.  M.  Bulloch,  who  has  been  editor  since  1909,  is  a 
native  of  Aberdeen  and  M.A.  of  the  University  there.  He 
was  one  of  the  editors  of  the  University  Magazine,  for 
which  he  wrote  many  neat  verses  under  the  pseudonym 
of  "Jack  Daw  of  Rhymes,"  and  several  of  his  songs  retain 
their  place  in  the  "Scottish  Students'  Song  Book,"  of  which 
he  was  one  of  the  four  original  editors.  He  began  his 
career  on  the  Aberdeen  Free  Press,  and  was  brought  to 
London  by  Mr.  Shorter  to  help  produce  the  Sketch. 
Afterwards  he  assisted  to  start  the  Sphere,  as  previously 
related.  He  is  a  talented  writer,  who  has  not  only  pro- 
duced much  light  verse  but  also  books  on  such  varying 
subjects  as  University  History,  "Grangerising,"  Territorial 
Soldiering,  and  Genealogy,  the  last  of  which  has  been  his 
hobby  for  years.    He  is  also  a  great  "first-nighter,"  having 


250  The  Street  of  Ink 

seen  1,746  plays  of  more  than  one  act,  the  programmes  of 
which  he  keeps  bound  and  indexed. 

The  high  place  that  the  Graphic  occupies  in  the  estima- 
tion of  our  Dominions  beyond  the  Seas  has  long  been 
equalled  by  its  standing  on  the  Continent  of  Europe, 
for  it  not  only  found  its  way  into  all  the  principal  public 
places  in  all  the  capitals,  but  its  foreign  articles  proved 
of  enormous  interest  to  all  Continental  journals,  so  that 
Press  cuttings  received  from  week  to  week  were  equally 
divided  between  the  journals  of  the  United  Kingdom  and 
those  of  the  various  Continental  countries. 

It  would  be  wrong  to  suppose  that  the  Graphic  caters 
mostly  for  men ;  that  is  not  so.  It  attempts  to  interest  all. 
This  is  very  marked  in  the  attention  it  pays  to  the  activities 
of  women ;  while  the  effective  maps  and  diagrammatic 
treatment  of  subjects  by  G.  F.  Morrell  fascinate  those 
young  enough  to  be  still  at  school.  Some  of  these  maps 
have  been  utilised  by  Government  Departments. 

The  assistant  editor  of  the  Graphic,  W.  K.  Colquhoun, 
has  been  many  years  on  the  staff.  Like  J.  M.  Bulloch,  he 
is  a  Scotsman.  He  was  educated  in  Edinburgh  and  on  the 
Continent,  and  is  a  first-rate  linguist.  He  is  greatly  in- 
terested in  science,  and  has  an  encyclopaedic  knowledge 
of  Imperial  affairs — of  real  value  to  such  a  paper — in  writ- 
ing on  which  he  used  to  assist  his  brother,  the  late  Archi- 
bald Colquhoun,  one  of  the  leaders  of  latter-day  thought 
in  these  matters. 

Mr.  Bulloch  reminded  me  that,  at  the  present  time, 
the  chief  difficulty  of  those  who,  like  himself,  produce 
weekly  illustrated  papers,  is  to  keep  abreast  of  the 
news  and  yet  not  entrench  upon  the  domain  of  the 
picture  daily. 

Corresponding  to  the  changes  in  daily  papers,  which 
have  made  the  editor  control  in  every  sense  the  contents  of 
all  the  columns  except  advertisements,  and  not  merely  the 
two  or  more  columns  dealing  with  comment,  the  editorial 


The  Illustrated  Papers  251 

function  in  the  Graphic  now  combines  the  print  as  well 
as  the  pictures,  the  aim  being  a  complete  alliance,  as  it 
were,  between  the  illustrations  and  the  letterpress.  You 
would  never,  for  example,  find  an  article  in  the  Graphic 
on  the  immortality  of  the  soul  with  a  picture  illustrating 
the  boilers  of  a  "Dreadnought  "  in  the  middle  of  it.  Pre- 
cisely the  same  holds  true  of  the  decoration  of  a  page. 
This  newer  method,  utilising  the  greater  time  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  weekly  editor,  helps  to  make  each  issue  of 
the  paper  a  greater  unit,  or,  rather,  a  more  highly  organ- 
ised series  of  units,  than  is  possible  in  a  daily  paper, 
where  the  news  of  the  day  comes  tumbling  in  all  of  a  heap 
and  has  to  be  found  room  for  according  to  circumstances. 
"Make-up"  has  become  increasingly  important,  and  a 
great  amount  of  anxious  thought  is  given  to  it.  Naturally 
the  Graphic  has  always  been  strong  on  the  mechanical 
side  of  the  paper's  production,  keeping  on  the  premises 
engravers  of  its  own  in  order  to  improve  the  process- 
maker's  blocks. 

THE   "DAILY   GRAPHIC" 

The  first  number  of  the  Daily  Graphic  was,  from  the 
present-day  point  of  view,  a  mixture  of  daily  paper  and 
weekly  paper  features.  All  the  illustrations  were  either 
line  drawings  or  woodcuts.  Even  the  letters  to  the  editor 
were  illustrated. 

The  size  of  the  Daily  Graphic  was  the  same  size  as  the 
weekly,  except  that  it  consisted  of  sixteen  pages  only. 
The  first  number  was  published  on  a  Saturday.  One 
million  copies  were  printed  (showing,  I  think,  the  pre- 
vision of  the  proprietor),  and  it  was  popularised  by  pre- 
senting a  preliminary  number  quite  distinct  from  the  first 
number  of  the  regular  daily  with  each  copy  of  the 
Christmas  number  of  the  Graphic. 

Mr.  Carmichael  Thomas  tells  a  good  story  of  the 
paper's  early  days.     "I  used  to  walk  down  to  the  office," 


252  The  Street  of  Ink 

he  says,  "and  call  at  every  newsagent  on  the  way  to  ask 
for  the  Daily  Graphic.  Most  of  my  inquiries  were  satis- 
factory, which  showed  that  our  energetic  pubHsher  was 
doing  his  work  well ;  and  I  had  to  purchase  quite  a  large 
number  of  copies;  but  in  one  instance  my  inquiry  was  not 
entirely  successful.  It  was  a  grubby  little  shop,  and 
there  was  a  grubby  old  woman  sitting  behind  a  counter 
wrapped  up  in  a  shawl.  I  asked  for  the  Daily  Graphic. 
'You  mean  the  Daily  Telegraph,'  she  replied.  'Oh, 
no !  '  I  said,  '  I  mean  the  Daily  Graphic'  '  There  ain't 
no  sich  paper.'  '  Excuse  me,  I  saw  the  paper  on  Smith's 
bookstall  this  morning.'  'Well,  if  yer  saw  it  and  yer 
wanted  it,  why  didn't  yer  buy  it !  '  "  Mr.  Thomas  adds 
that  he  retired  discomfited,  for  he  felt  that  the  most 
brilliant  repartee  of  which  he  was  capable  would  be  thrown 
away. 

From  the  outset  the  new  venture  was  notable  alike  for 
the  quality  of  its  contributors,  literary  and  artistic,  and 
for  the  moderation  and  common  sense  of  its  editorial 
views.  Harold  Cox  was  a  member  of  the  original 
staff,  and  is  on  the  leader-writing  staff  to-day — a  fact 
which  itself  proves  the  ability  of  the  writers  for  the 
paper.  The  present  editor,  A.  S.  M.  Hutchinson,  is 
therefore  the  head  of  a  first-rate  band  of  journalists.  He 
has  the  distinction  of  being  one  of  the  most  successful 
of  our  younger  novelists,  and  wields  a  pen  that  has  earned 
him  both  critical  and  popular  appreciation.  Defective 
eyesight  kept  him  out  of  the  Army  until  the  standard 
was  lowered,  and  again,  after  a  short  spell  in  the  ranks 
of  the  Somerset  Light  Infantry,  caused  his  discharge  and 
return  to  his  editorial  chair.  He  joined  the  Daily  Graphic 
in  1906  as  leader  writer — another  instance  of  the  import- 
ance with  which  this  feature  is  viewed — became  night 
editor  in  igo8  and  editor  four  years  later.  His  policy  has 
been  to  make  the  Daily  Graphic  (as  he  well  puts  it)  not 
a    picture    papef,    but   -a    newspaper   with    pictures.       In 


The  Illustrated  Papers  253 

achieving  this  aim  he  has  strengthened  the  close  link 
with  his  readers,  which  is  reflected  in  the  files  of  personal 
letters,  and  was  shown  at  the  time  of  the  coming-of-age, 
when  the  Daily  Graphic  (then  edited  by  W.  A.  Ack- 
land)  received  congratulatory  messages  from  representa- 
tives of  the  leading  walks  of  life,  headed  by  a  message 
from  Sandringham  :  "His  Majesty  congratulates  you  upon 
the  successful  way  in  which  the  paper  has  been  managed, 
and  trusts  it  may  continue  to  enjoy  many  years  of 
prosperity." 

H.  C.  Shelley,  another  leader  writer,  and  the  author 
of  many  historical  and  typographical  works,  has  charge 
of  the  book  department.  The  able  news  editor,  A.  W. 
Netting,  first  made  his  mark  in  helping  to  establish 
the  Daily  Graphic  Free  Meal  Fund,  which  for  several 
winters  prior  to  the  war  did  immense  good  among 
the  needy  and  distressed.  The  chief  sub-editor  is 
Alfred  Hurry,  and  the  Parliamentary  correspondent  is 
G.  Turnbull,  who  is  a  well-known  personality  in  the 
Gallery.  Such  a  list  might  be  given  to  any  daily  paper, 
and  would  show  that  the  arrangements  for  news-gathering 
were  adequate,  but  the  ordinary  daily  would  not  attach 
so  much  importance  to  the  art  department.  The  art  editor 
of  the  Daily  Graphic  until  August,  1914,  was  Dale 
Thomas,  who  in  that  month  became  one  of  the  First 
Hundred  Thousand,  and  is  now  Captain  Dale  Thomas, 
A.S.C.  His  place  is  at  present  being  held  by  F.  E. 
Bell,  who  has  been  with  the  paper  for  a  very  long  period. 
Another  valued  member  of  the  staff  is  Jack  Walker,  the 
cartoonist,  who  combines  humour  with  individuality.  It 
is  interesting  to  record,  as  showing  the  high  standard  of 
the  Daily  Graphic  personnel,  that  their  military  corre- 
spondent at  the  outbreak  of  war  was  recalled  at  once 
to  the  War  Office  as  a  member  of  the  General  Staff 
to  takf  up  a  high  appointment  in  the  Intelligence 
Department. 


254  The  Street  of  Ink 

THE   "BYSTANDER" 

The  proprietors  of  the  Graphic  issued  the  Bystander 
as  a  companion  publication  dealing  with  the  lighter  sub- 
jects of  the  day  passed  over  by  the  more  serious  weeklies. 
The  first  editor  was  Comyns  Beaumont. 

Both  in  peace  times  and  during  the  war  crisis,  the 
Bystander  has  always  possessed  an  "atmosphere"  of  its 
own.  Dealing  at  first  with  only  the  lighter  subjects  in 
a  bright  and  cheery  way,  it  has  turned  even  the  more 
serious  topics  to  account  and  discovered  the  lighter  side 
of  the  heaviest.  Witness  its  method  of  dealing  with  the 
one  subject  that  would  have  seemed  impossible  to  treat 
so — the  war. 

The  proof  of  the  enterprise  of  the  proprietors  is  evi- 
denced by  the  discovery  and  development  of  Captain 
Bruce  Bairnsfather.  No  feature  of  illustrated  journalism 
during  the  war,  I  think,  more  amply  paid  its  origin- 
ators than  the  success  which  followed.  Captain  Bairns- 
father has  symbolised  the  British  Tommy  in  a  way  which 
has  thoroughly  captured  the  public  and  greatly  increased 
the  popularity  of  the  Bystander. 

In  spite  of  its  success,  the  Bystander  was  faced  with 
unusual  difficulties  in  the  way  of  editorial  staff.  All 
were  young  men,  all  were  eager  to  join  up.  Vivian 
Carter,  who  for  eight  and  a  half  years  has  edited  the 
paper  and  helped  materially  in  bringing  it  to  its  present 
high  position  in  illustrated  journalism,  has  joined  the 
Inns  of  Court  O.T.C.,  and  has  for  the  present  laid  down 
his  critical  pen.  His  righthand  man,  the  clever  art 
editor  of  the  paper,  A.  S.  Allberry,  whose  ability  in 
presenting  the  Bystander  to  its  readers  is  recognised 
in  Tallis  House,  holds  a  commission  in  the  V.T.C. 
A.  B.  narrower,  the  sub-editor,  has  risen  from  a  private 
to  a  captain  in  the  A.S.C. ;  and  Saxe  Wyndham  from 
a  private  in  the  Horse  Guards  to  a  lieutenancy  and 
the  Military  Cross,     Many  of  the  contributors  have  un- 


The  Illustrated  Papers  255 

fortunately  made  the  great  sacrifice  and  lie  buried  on  one 
or  other  of  the  fronts.  PhiHp  Baynes,  Will  Houghton, 
and  "Saki"  (Hector  Munro)  will  always  be  remembered 
by  readers  of  the  Bystander. 

THE  "TATLER" 

The  Tatler,  which  was  started  in  1902,  proved  at  first 
a  source  of  anxiety  to  its  owners,  although  for  some 
years  now  it  has  been  a  paying  property.  Ably  edited 
since  1908  by  E.  Huskinson  (a  most  competent  cartoonist, 
as  the  Conservative  Party  well  recognised),  the  Tatler 
is  a  delightful  companion  to  the  Sketch  and  the  Bystander 
— a  successful  trio,  which  bear  popular  testimony  to  the 
excellence  of  Mr.  Shorter's  taste  and  the  cleverness  of  his 
original  conception. 

Huskinson's  career  is  altogether  exceptional,  and  I 
think  is  about  the  only  case  I  can  recall  where  the  easy 
journalistic  success  so  dear  to  novelists  was  realised  in  the 
world  of  actuality.  Until  he  became  editor  of  the  Tatler 
he  had  never  been  inside  a  newspaper  office,  and  knew 
nothing  of  its  workings.  Originally  educated  for  the  law, 
he  took  up  designing,  and  achieved  considerable  success 
as  cartoonist  for  the  Tariff  Reform  League.  He  started 
this  work  in  1904,  and  conducted  the  pictorial  side  of  the 
campaign  which  must  have  contributed  to  the  majority 
obtained  by  the  Moderates  in  the  London  municipal  elec- 
tion of  1907.  He  told  me  that  during  the  period  from  1904 
to  1914  he  turned  out  1,500  cartoons  on  Tariff  Reform 
alone. 

In  the  nine  years  that  the  Tatler  has  been  under  his 
guidance  it  has  more  than  trebled  its  circulation;  indeed, 
he  says  as  far  as  circulation  is  concerned  there  has  only 
been  one  gloomy  spot  in  that  period,  and  that  was  just 
after  the  outbreak  of  war  in  1914,  when  the  circulation, 
owing  to  its  being  a  "light"  paper,  experienced  a 
considerable  drop.     This  was   remedied   by   adapting   its 


256  The  Street  of  Ink 

appeal  to  the  men  in  the  field  and  in  the  Navy,  and  the 
success  of  this  policy  has  been  shown  in  increased 
popularity. 

A  New  Note. — Huskinson  considers  that  the  most 
popular  features  of  the  Taller  since  he  has  been  associated 
with  it  have  been  the  weekly  drawings  by  George  Belcher, 
and  the  discovery  of  Miss  Fish,  who  does  the  clever 
"Eve"  drawings  at  the  beginning  of  the  paper.  These 
drawings  are,  or  were,  very  new  and  unconventional  in 
style,  and  created  a  great  vogue.  The  designers  of 
fashion  copied  them,  and  "Eve"  hats,  coats  and  handker- 
chiefs have  been  sold  in  hundreds,  while  in  Tina,  the 
popular  musical  comedy  at  the  Adelphi,  a  special  scene 
was  based  on  these  drawings.  In  the  Taller  the 
"Eve"  drawings  tell  a  story  week  by  week,  which  is 
written  up  by  a  contributor  whose  identity  cannot  be 
divulged,  and  whose  ideas  are  cleverly  executed  by  the 
artist. 

On  the  literary  side  the  most  successful  features  have 
been  "With  Silent  Friends,"  a  weekly  book  review  by 
Richard  King,  and  the  "Letters  of  Eve"  themselves, 
which  are  very  bright  and  interesting  reviews  of  the  doings 
of  Society  week  by  week.  A  third  article,  which  has  also 
temporarily  ceased,  was  one  entitled  "Priscilla  in  Paris," 
the  forerunner  of  those  intimate  letters  which  are  now  such 
a  feature  of  the  London  Press.  The  author  of  this  letter 
was  in  Brussels  when  the  Germans  overran  Belgium,  but 
to  the  deep  regret  of  the  editor  no  word  has  been  heard  of 
her  for  over  twelve  months.  Huskinson  also  tells  me  that 
the  Taller  was  the  first  weekly  paper  to  devote  itself  to 
snapshots  of  well  known  people,  instead  of  relying,  as 
most  papers  had  previously  done,  upon  the  studio 
pictures.  The  snapshot,  if  a  good  one,  is  always  more 
indicative  of  the  true  looks  and  characteristics  of  any 
personality — ^male  or  female. 


\VI 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

SOME   WELL-KNOWN   JOURNALS    AND   JOURNALISTS 

"PUNCH" 

Certain  journals  are  national  institutions;  the  United 
Kingdom  would  seem  to  lack  something  without 
them.  If  you  were  to  ask  the  intelligent  man  in  the 
street  to  name  one  of  them  the  chances  are  about  a 
thousand  to  one  that  he  would  answer  Punch.  Truth  is 
undoubtedly  another,  and  the  Field  is  a  third,  but  apart 
from  these  there  are  many  which  appeal  to  one  class 
or  another,  and  are  regarded  by  their  readers  as  indis- 
pensable. Since  it  is  impossible  within  the  compass  of  a 
single  book  to  deal  either  adequately  or  even  in  the 
most  general  way  with  all,  I  must  content  myself  with 
referring  to  a  limited  number  of  representative  journals 
which  I  happen  personally  to  know  something  about. 

Punch,  as  has  already  been  indicated,  is  an  indis- 
pensable adjunct  to  the  country  house,  to  the  club,  and 
to  the  chancelleries  of  the  world.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  exaggerate  the  influence  of  its  cartoons,  many 
of  which  are  proverbial  and,  like  the  artists,  known  to 
everybody.  It  is  still  the  custom  to  settle  these  cartoons 
at  a  weekly  dinner  at  which  the  leading  members  of  the 
staff  meet  and  discuss  the  policy  of  the  paper.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  dining  staff  to-day  are  :  Sir  Owen  Seaman,  the 
editor;  Bernard  Partridge,  senior  cartoonist;  L.  Raven 
Hill,  junior  cartoonist;  F.  H.  Townsend,  art  editor;  Alan 
A.  Milne,  assistant  editor  (now  with  his  battalion);  R.  C. 
Lehmann  ;  C  L.  Graves;  E.  V.  Lucas,  vice-editor;  and 
W.  A.  Locker,  deputy-assistant  editor  and  Parliamentary 
critic. 

R  257 


258  The  Street  of  Ink 

It  is  the  ambition  of  every  artist  to  become  a  member 
of  Mr.  Punch's  staff,  and  of  most  writers  to  figure  in  his 
literary  columns,  just  as  it  is  the  ambition  of  politicians 
to  be  cartooned  in  its  pages.  Punch  is  typically 
British,  and  despite  the  famous  repartee,  it  is  as  good 
to-day  as  it  has  ever  been. 

I    hear    good    acounts   of    Roy    Somerville,    and    the 

tangible  result  of  his  labours  is  reflected  in  the  commercial 

columns  of  Punch. 

" TRUTH " 

I  have  a  doub'le  regard  for  Truth  (speaking  in  this 
instance  of  the  paper,  and  not  the  virtue)  because  of 
the  association  of  some  of  its  most  famous  men  with 
the  Daily  News  and  Star  family.  One  might  call  it  a 
first  cousin  of  both.  Henry  Labouchere  when  he  started 
the  paper  in  1877  had  first  made  his  reputation  by  the 
"Letters  of  a  Besieged  Resident,"  which  he  sent  from 
Paris  during  the  Franco-Prussian  War,  and  it  is  worth 
recording  that  Mrs.  Crawford,  the  famous  Paris  corre- 
spondent of  the  Daily  News,  wrote  in  the  first  number  of 
Truth,  and  forwarded  her  final  contribution  only  a  few 
days  before  she  died.  As  I  have  stated  before,  R.  A. 
Bennett,  the  present  editor,  was  formerly  on  the  staff  of 
the  Star. 

The  general  impression  in  the  world  at  large  is  that 
the  success  of  Truth  is  entirely  due  to  "Labby."  One 
might  say  that  the  actual  record  is  that  "Labby"  founded 
it,  Horace  Voules  made  it,  and  R.  A.  Bennett  carries  on 
the  success  so  obtained.  "  Labby's  "  personality,  of  course, 
was  worth  a  fortune  to  any  paper.  There  was  only  one 
danger,  which  Edmund  Yates  put  his  finger  upon  when  he 
observed  the  energy  and  industry  with  w^hich  the  former 
writer  of  the  financial  article  in  the  World  threw  himself 
into  his  new  enterprise.  "I  will  give  him  six  months," 
he  said.  Truth  recorded,  some  years  afterwards,  that 
"Labby"  actually  "stuck  it"  for  three  and  a  half  years. 


Journals  and  Journalists  259 

when  his  election  to  Parliament  diverted  his  interests  into 
another  channel.  The  time,  however,  was  sufficient  to 
make  the  paper  liked.  He  wrote  every  week  columns  about 
every  subject  that  took  his  fancy,  turning  out  the  City 
article  whenever  lu;  felt  in  the  mood.  All  he  wrote  was 
interesting  if  discursive,  and  all  of  it  was  touched  with 
what  may  be  described  as  his  elfin  fancy. 

It  was  fortunate  that  when  he  tired  of  his  work  there 
was  a  man  like  Voules  so  admirably  equipped  to  carry  it 
on.  "Voules  knew  his  business  thoroughly,  having  been 
trained  with  Cassell's,  by  whom  he  was  appointed 
manager  of  the  Echo  when  they  started  that  paper  as  the 
first  London  "halfpenny."  When  he  joined  "Labby" 
as  business  manager  he  soon  had  to  assume  the 
work  of  assistant  editor,  and  it  is  recorded  (again  by 
Truth)  that  Voules  drifted  into  the  editorship,  and  some 
twenty  years  afterwards  resigned  that  position  to  which 
he  had  never  been  appointed. 

Voules  did  not  set  himself  up  as  a  literary  man,  although 
he  was  a  most  competent  journalist.  He  was  a  first-rate 
business  man,  an  admirable  judge  of  what  his  readers 
liked;  he  knew  how  to  choose  his  assistants,  and  he  pos- 
sessed qualities  of  perseverance,  altertness  and  deduction 
which  enabled  him  to  pursue  and  run  to  earth  the  most 
intricate  financial  swindle  or  scandal  which  he  might 
take  up. 

His  first  big  scoop  was  the  revelation  of  the  weakness 
of  the  Royal  Liver  Friendly  Society  of  Liverpool,  as  the 
result  of  which  a  Government  Committee  of  investigation 
was  appointed,  and  the  Society  put  upon  a  firm  basis. 
His  chief  achievement,  however,  is  that  he  made  Truth  a 
paying  property  and  organised  it  on  a  sound  basis. 
"Labby  "  had  illimitable  funds,  but  whether  he  would  have 
continued  the  paper  when  he  lost  his  first  great  interest 
in  it  is  another  matter. 

Of  writers.    Truth   has  always  had   the  best.      G.   A. 


26o  The  Street  of  Ink 

Sala  ^vas  one  of  the  original  contributors,  and  when  the 
proprietor  ceased  writing  the  dramatic  criticisms,  Clement 
Scott  succeeded  him,  although  his  connection  with  the 
paper  was  guarded  as  a  State  secret.  He  continued  to  act 
as  Truth's  dramatic  critic  up  to  within  a  year  or  two  of  his 
death.  Grenville  Murray  wrote  all  the  earlier  queer 
stories,  and  H.  G.  Wells  saw  the  publication  of  one  of  his 
earliest  stories  in  its  columns.  There  was  also  the  incom- 
parable "Marmaduke"  (C.  E.  Jerningham)  and  "Madge" 
(Mrs.  Humphry).  These  are  but  a  few  of  the  con- 
tributors and  features.  The  commercial  side  of  Truth 
is  ably  conducted  by  Louis  Kauffman,  the  general 
manager. 

Truth  is  always  bright,  informative,  and  well  written, 
and  whilst  ministering  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  general 
reader  it  has  performed  national  work  of  the  highest  im- 
portance by  becoming  the  terror  of  those  who  prey  upon 
credulous  humanity,  having  pursued  them  with  unabated 
energy  and  a  fearless  disregard  of  consequence  throughout 
all  the  years  since  it  first  appeared.  It  has  a  consistent 
record  of  invaluable  service,  and  has  well  earned  the  full 
measure  of  success  it  has  won. 

THE   "FIELD" 

The  Field  (the  full  title  on  the  cover  is  The  Field, 
the  Farm,  the  Garden),  which  in  a  sub-tide  describes 
itself  as  the  Country  Gentleman's  Newspaper,  was  first 
issued  on  January  i,  1853,  and  was  heralded  as  the 
largest  newspaper  in  Europe  !  (with  a  note  of  exclama- 
tion). It  was  further  intimated  with  the  modesty  charac- 
teristic of  newspaper  proprietors  that  the  "  increased  space 
enables  the  conductors  to  make  each  department  perfect; 
and  they  hope  by  the  careful  exclusion  of  every  subject  of 
an  objectionable  character  to  render  the  Field  all  that  a 
gentleman's  sporting  and  family  paper  should  be."  That 
latter    policy    has   certainly    been    fulfilled.       The    "con- 


Journals  and  Journalists  261 

ductois"  might  have  added  that  the  journal  would 
be  written  by  experts  for  experts,  and  that  they  would 
cater  for  the  varied  tastes  of  the  country  gentleman 
and  the  outdoor  man  and  woman  with  skill  and  com- 
pleteness. 

The  Field  is  written  by  a  staff  of  experts  under  the 
brilliant  editorship  of  my  friend  Theodore  Cook.  When 
he  was  knighted  in  June,  1916,  the  Field  was,  I  think, 
the  first  sporting  paper  so  honoured,  and  the  distinction 
was  the  more  signal  in  that  it  occurred  during  the  war, 
and  the  more  characteristic  because  it  came  at  a  time  when 
there  was  no  question  of  party  politics— the  one  aspect  of 
life  which  the  Field  had  refused  either  to  represent  or 
support.  Sir  Theodore  regards  the  honour  as  being 
paid  to  his  paper.  To  use  his  owm  words  to  me, 
"If  ever  proprietors  deserved  such  recognition,  mine 
did;  and  if  ever  a  man  had  a  good  staff  to  help  him,  it 
is  myself  !  " 

Sir  Theodore  Cook  is  an  old  Oxford  Blue,  and  cap- 
tained the  English  Fencing  Team  in  Paris  and  at  the 
Olympic  Games  of  Athens.  He  is  nearly  as  good  a  sports- 
man as  he  is  a  good  fellow,  and  plays  golf  and  tennis  as 
enthusiastically  as  a  seventeen-year-old. 

To  show  the  authoritativeness  of  the  Field  one  or  two 
names  may  be  mentioned.  The  veteran  James  Harting 
has  an  unrivalled  knowledge  of  birds,  natural  history,  and 
other  branches  of  field  sport;  W.  B.  Woodgate,  the  cele- 
brated University  oarsman  and  coach,  is  unchallenged  as 
an  expert  in  his  particular  department;  William  Senior 
("Red  Spinner"),  although  no  longer  actively  engaged  at 
Windsor  House  itself,  having  retired  from  the  editorship 
at  the  close  of  1909,  still  keeps  in  happy  touch  with  the 
present  most  capable  angling  editor,  H.  T.  Sheringham. 
Then  there  are  Charles  Richardson,  j)residing  over 
ilif  iuinting  and  turf  departments;  Captain  F.  Parker, 
shooting;  Max  Baker,  expert  in  gunnery  and  explosives; 


262  The  Street  of  Ink 

C.J.  B.  Macdonald,  agriculture;  W.  Watson,  gardening; 
S.  C.  Gilmour,  travel  and  colonisation  ;  James  A.  Manson 
("Jack  High"),  bowls;  and  Major  B.  Heckstall-Smith, 
yachting,  etc.  etc. 

The  Field's  hunting  correspondents  are  in  touch  with 
every  M.F.H.  in  the  kingdom,  and  their  reports  are 
followed  with  the  keenest  interest  week  by  week. 

These  are  but  a  few  names  and  features,  but  they 
are  enough  to  show  how  thoroughly  representative 
the  pages  of  the  Field  are,  and  how  vigorously  and 
effectively  it  upholds  the  traditional  merits  of  the  open- 
air  life.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  describing  the  Field 
as  the  greatest  sporting  paper  in  the  world.  I  may 
just  record  here  that  the  Queen  is  a  woman's  weekly  with 
a  similarly  strong  and  pleasant  personality.  Like  the 
Field,  it  is  issued  by  the  historic  house  of  Horace  Cox, 
of  which  the  executive  head  is  C.  Binny  Dibblee,  a 
distinguished  scholar  and  Fellow  of  All  Souls,  who  came 
to  his  present  position  from  the  Manchester  Gtiardian,  and 
who  is  the  author  of  "The  Newspaper,"  a  standard  book 
on  journalism. 

THE   "ATHEN.^UM" 

A  high  place  in  the  records  of  journalism  must  be  given 
to  the  Athenceum,  which,  since  its  foundation  in  January, 
1828,  has  been  regarded  not  merely  as  a  leading  literary 
journal,  but  as  an  authority  on  science  and  the  fine  arts 
as  well.  Its  reputation  dates  from  1830,  when  Charles 
Wentworth  Dilke  obtained  control  of  the  paper,  being 
succeeded  therein  by  his  son.  Sir  Charles  W.  Dilke,  M.P. 

John  Francis  joined  the  clerical  staff  in  183 1,  and 
eventually  became  publisher,  and  the  names  of  Dilke  and 
Francis  are  most  prominently  associated  in  the  public  mind 
with  the  Athenceum.  John  Francis  retired  in  1881,  and 
his  son,  John  Collins  Francis,  who  died  the  other  day, 
succeeded   him   as  publisher.      When    Sir   Charles    Dilke 


Journals  and  Journalists  263 

died  in  igii,  John  Edward  Francis  became  part  pro- 
prietor, and  assumed  sole  management  in  1913.  Sir 
Charles  Dilke  appointed  Norman  McColl  as  editor  in 
1870,  and  during  the  thirty  years  that  he  held  his  office 
the  AthencEum  extended  its  influence  and  reputation. 
Vernon  Rendall  succeeded  AIcColl  in  1900,  and  Arthur 
Greenwood  became  general  editor  in  191C,  although 
Rendall  still  continued  to  advise  on  the  literary  matters 
and  to  contribute  to  the  paper. 

Naturally  many  of  the  greatest  names  in  contemporary 
literature  are  associated  with  the  Athenceum,  extending 
back  to  the  time  of  Carlyle,  Hood  and  Harriet  Martineau. 
A  little  later  the  contributors  included  De  Morgan,  and 
Professor  Hunt  on  science,  as  well  as  Christina  Rossetti, 
and  more  recently  Theodore  Watts-Dunton,  Professor 
Mahaffy,  Arthur  Symons,  Austin  Dobson,  F.  G. 
Stephens,  Swinburne,  Andrew  Lang,  Professor  Prout, 
Joseph  Knight,  Dr.  Marett  (of  Oxford),  M.  E.  Sadler, 
Walter  Bayes,  and  A.  E.  Zimmern. 

Almost  from  the  beginning  the  policy  of  the 
Athenceum  was  independent  criticism,  but  it  took  a 
prominent  part  in  the  agitation  for  the  repeal  of  the  taxes 
on  knowledge,  and  in  later  times  has  given  increasing 
attention  to  social  and  economic  questions.  During 
the  war  the  Athenceum  changed  from  a  weekly  to  a 
monthly,  and  an  old  friend  of  mine,  Joseph  Thorp, 
joined  the  editorial  committee,  which  consists  of  a  body 
of  men  and  women  of  wide  and  varied  interests.  Thorji 
is  a  delightful  writer  of  considerable  originality,  who 
seems  now  to  have  found  the  work  best  suited  to  his 
talents.  As  was  shown  in  the  case  of  the  difficulties  en- 
countered by  Notes  and  Queries,  which  is  associated 
with  the  Athenceum,  the  latter  paper  caters  for  a  loyal  as 
well  as  a  cultured  body  of  readers,  and  one  is 
justified  in  hoping  that  its  future  history  will  be  as 
distinguished  as  its  past. 


264  The  Street  of  Ink 

THE   "SPECTATOR" 

The  name  of  the  Spectator  is  a  great  one  in  English 
Hterature.  The  original  Spectator,  associated  with  the 
names  of  Addison  and  Steele,  is  one  of  our  classics.  The 
name  was  revived  in  1827  by  a  group  of  Radicals,  and 
the  first  editor  was  Mr.  Rentoul,  who  has  been  described 
as  the  intellectual  athlete  of  the  Reform  Bill,  and  was  the 
inventor  of  the  phrase  "  The  Bill,  the  whole  Bill,  and 
nothing  but  the  Bill."  To-day  the  Spectator  wields  a 
greater  influence  and  is  better  known,  particularly  abroad, 
than  at  any  time  in  its  history.  Under  the  editorship  of 
Mr.  J.  St.  Loe  Strachey  (who  became  sole  proprietor  and 
editor  about  twenty  years  ago),  it  represents  moderate 
Unionist  views,  and  previous  to  the  war,  when  party 
politics,  of  course,  vanished,  its  Radical  opponents, 
although  differing  from  much  of  its  policy,  were  able  to 
sympathise  with  its  strong  Free  Trade  views.  The 
success  of  the  paper  is  due  to  the  fact  that  it  speaks  its 
own  mind  with  fearlessness,  independence  and  authority, 
and  provides  an  intellectual  criticism  and  commentary  on 
current  affairs,  the  point  of  view  of  which,  however  one 
may  disagree  with  it,  is  certainly  disinterested.  In  every 
respect  it  is  an  influential  paper,  and  it  is  conducted  in  a 
way  that  makes  it  at  all  times  worthy  of  its  name. 

THE  "NATION" 

Mr.  H.  W.  Massingham  has  found  a  very  effective 
"pulpit"  in  the  Nation,  of  which  he  was  the  first  editor. 
The  initial  number  was  published  on  March  2,  1907,  as  a 
substitute  for  the  old  Speaker.  The  methods,  arrange- 
ments and  features  of  the  Speaker  were  all  altered,  but  its 
very  distinguished  editor,  J.  L.  Hammond,  became  a 
member  of  the  Nation's  staff  and  a  frequent  contributor. 
As  one  would  anticipate,  the  Nation  is  characterised  by 
independence  of  thought  as  regards  politics,  religion,  art 
and  literature,  which  are  viewed  from  a  standpoint  which 


Journals  and  Journalists  265 

may  be  called  Radical,  although  perhaps  a  better  descrip- 
tion would  be  to  say  that  the  Nation  reflects  all  Liberal 
aspirations  and  views  from  the  highest  pinnacle.  Anyone 
who  notes  and  reads  the  correspondence  columns  will  find 
plenty  of  justification  for  this  view,  and  will  be  impressed 
with  the  influence  of  the  Nation  with  its  readers.  It  has 
never  been  a  mere  party  organ,  however.  Mr.  Massingham 
told  me  that  he  hoped  it  never  will  be,  even  if  party 
journalism  were  to  become  fashionable  again.  Consider- 
able prominence  has  been  given  to  fresh  poetic  writing 
and  to  attempts  to  revive  the  literary  essay  as  well  as  to 
"short  studies"  in  fiction.  In  one  instance  a  very  suc- 
cessful experiment  was  made  by  publishing  a  continuous 
novel  in  the  shape  of  H.  G.  Wells's  "Mr.  Britling  Sees  it 
Through,"  which  was  undoubtedly  the  greatest  success 
of  the  season  when  republished  in  book  form  by  Messrs. 
Cassell. 

I  know  several  people  who  buy  the  Nation  for  its  book 
reviews,  and  many  for  Mr.  Massingham 's  articles,  and 
also  for  "A  London  Diary"  by  "A  Wayfarer."  Another 
successful  feature  has  been  the  publication  every  spring 
and  autumn  of  a  selected,  and  therefore  critical,  list  of  new 
books  in  the  form  of  a  special  supplement.  The  paper 
throughout  has  secured  the  co-operation  of  most  of  the 
writers  to-day  who  are  in  sympathy  with  its  ideas  of  social 
and  political  development.  Its  most  notable  record 
perhaps  was  secured  in  its  opening  number,  which 
contained  a  contribution  from  the  late  Sir  Henry 
Campbell-Bannerman,  who  was  then  Prime  Minister, 
whose  interesting  article  proposed  a  general  reduction  of 
armaments.  The  paper  is  well  produced  and  thoroughly 
informative,  and  as  it  is  read  by  a  large  body  of  think- 
ing people,  exercises  a  real  influence  on  the  thought  of 
the  day. 

Alfred  J.  Ronwick,  the  manager,  rondurts  the  busi- 
ness d<'partmeni  of  iIk*  Xdtioii  with  abiliiv. 


266  The  Street  of  Ink 

"LAND   AND   WATER" 

This  is  a  paper  which  I  have  read  weekly  for  some 
years.  It  is  the  product  of  two  old-established  papers, 
the  Sporting  Gazette  (established  in  1862)  and  Land  and 
Water  (established  in  1866),  both  of  which  enjoyed 
considerable  reputations  and  were  conducted  by  distin- 
guished men.  The  Hon.  Lancelot  Bathurst  was  pro- 
prietor in  the  late  'nineties,  during  which  time  the  interests 
of  hunting  were  specially  well  looked  after,  as  was  only 
natural,  considering  that  Mr.  Bathurst  is  the  son  of  a 
M.F.H.,  the  brother  of  Earl  Bathurst,  who  is  another, 
and  has  himself  been  a  Master  at  various  times. 

The  most  notable  period  in  the  history  of  the  County 
Gentleman,  which  was  incorporated  with  Land  and  Water, 
was  that  when  it  was  owned  by  Mr.  St.  Loe  Strachey,  and 
conducted  by  Mr.  Eric  Parker.  After  five  years,  however, 
Mr.  Strachey  decided  to  give  undivided  attention  to  the 
Spectator,  and  Mr.  Parker  joined  the  staff  of  the  Field. 

I  became  specially  interested  in  Land  and  Water  soon 
afterwards,  when  my  friend,  James  Murray  Allison, 
acquired  the  property  as  a  congenial  outlet  for  his  super- 
fluous energy.  Allison  landed  in  Great  Britain  from 
Australia  with  no  more  capital  than  unbounded  confidence 
in  himself,  immense  energy  and  initiative,  and  a  gift  of 
enterprise.  These  qualities  were  supplemented  by  a  genius 
for  business.  When  he  severed  his  regular  connection  with 
The  Times  and  devoted  his  attention  more  closely  to  Land 
and  Water  things  were  bound  to  happen  !  He  has  been 
ably  seconded  by  Nevile  Foster,  another  good  friend  of 
mine,  who  is  the  cousin  of  Sir  Frank  Newnes.  Foster 
came  down  from  Oxford  only  ten  years  ago,  but  he  has 
crammed  a  great  deal  of  experience  into  these  years;  his 
interests  are  considerable  and  varied,  and  his  financial 
and  executive  ability  has  proved  valuable  to  the  paper,  of 
which  he  is  managing  director  and  a  large  shareholder. 

The  greatest  factors  in   the  recent  success  which  has 


Journals  and  Journalists  267 

made  the  paper  notable  have  undoubtedly  been  the  war 
articles  by  Hilaire  Belloc,  and  the  naval  articles  by  A.  H. 
Pollen,  the  husband  of  a  lady  who  matches  him  in  charm, 
and  the  father  of  two  of  the  nicest  and  manliest  boys  1 
have  ever  met.  Allison  came  rapidly  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  war  would  necessitate  radical  changes  in  the 
character  of  weekly  as  well  as  daily  journals,  and  that  a 
paper  which  explained  lucidly  and  authoritatively  the  pro- 
gress of  the  campaign  on  land  and  the  operations  at  sea 
would  be  read  with  avidity.  He  secured  the  two  best 
men  for  the  purpose.  Hilaire  Belloc's  father  was  a  colonel 
under  Napoleon,  and  he  himself  has  served  in  the  French 
Army.  After  a  distinguished  career  at  Oxford,  where  he 
was  a  Balliol  scholar,  he  joined  the  staff  of  the  Outlook 
and  became  a  member  of  Parliament.  He  founded  the 
Eye  Wit7iess,  which  was  succeeded  by  the  New  Witness, 
now  edited  by  G.  K.  Chesterton  while  his  brother,  Cecil 
Chesterton,  is  serving  in  the  Army.  Belloc  is  the 
author  of  many  literary  masterpieces,  including  novels, 
essays,  and  light  verse,  as  well  as  books  on  military 
subjects.  He  had,  fortunately  enough,  made  himself 
familiar  with  that  part  of  the  country  forming  the  Western 
front,  and  so  in  every  way  was  unusually  well  qualified 
for  the  work  which  has  added  so  much  to  his  reputation. 

Like  him,  Arthur  Pollen  graduated  at  Oxford,  after 
which  he  was  called  to  the  Bar,  and  travelled  extensively 
on  the  Continent,  in  India,  and  America.  Taking  an 
interest  in  politics  he  stood  as  the  Liberal  candidate  for 
Walthamstow  in  1895,  but  has  not  since  actively  engaged 
in  fiolitics.  fTe  left  the  Bar  for  journalism  in  1806,  and 
journalism  I  or  business  in  180H,  after  which  he  began 
those  investigations  into  the  possibilities  of  long-range 
gunnery  at  sea  the  results  of  which  have  contributed 
materially  to  the  revolution  in  naval  fighting.  Few  of  his 
readers  realise  the  extent  and  intimacy  of  his  knowledge 
of  naval  afifairs.     None  probably  gathers  from  his  severe 


268  The  Street  of  Ink 

historical  style  the  charm  of  the  man  himself  and  of  his 
humour.  If  they  did,  the  circulation  of  Land  and  Water 
would  go  even  higher  ! 

I  have  had  happy  relations  with  both  Allison  and 
Foster,  which  served  to  strengthen  my  regard  for  them. 
Francis  Stopford,  the  editor,  began  his  journalistic  career 
in  India  twenty-five  years  ago.  Returning  to  England  he 
joined  the  staff  of  the  Daily  Mail  in  its  early  days,  and 
afterwards  worked  with  Sir  Arthur  Pearson  on  the  Daily 
Express  for  over  ten  years.  The  general  manager  is  A. 
Douglas  Farmer,  and  on  the  commercial  side  an  outstand- 
ing figure  is  A.  Walters  Wilkin.  Finally,  in  T.  Whiffen 
Land  and  Water  has  a  veteran,  whose  service  with  the 
journal  dates  back  nearly  forty  years ;  indeed,  to  the  old 
days  of  the  Sporting  Gazette. 

THE  "EXCHANGE  AND   MART" 

The  Exchange  and  Mart  is  in  a  class  by  itself.  Mr. 
Upcott  Gill  tells  me  it  lost  something  like  ;^  10,000  before 
turning  the  corner.  "It  was,"  he  says,  "a  long  and 
expensive  business  to  educate  the  public  up  to  the 
point  of  using  the  paper  in  sufficient  numbers,  as 
everything  moved  much  more  slowly  fifty  years  ago 
than  to-day." 

The  origin  of  the  paper  was  just  a  fluke.  It  was 
neither  a  heaven-born  inspiration  nor  a  well  thought  out 
scheme,  but  merely  due  to  the  seizing  of  an  opportunity 
by  the  late  Serjeant  Cox,  the  last  of  the  Law  Serjeants, 
and  the  proprietor  of  the  Field  and  the  Queen.  His  wife 
was  a  great  collector  of  butterflies,  moths,  and  things  of 
that  nature,  and  wanting  a  particular  specimen  she  one  day 
put  a  query  in  the  Queen  asking  if  any  reader  would  give 
it  to  her  in  exchange  for  something  else.  The  idea  caught 
on,  and  the  next  w^eek  there  were  nearly  a  dozen  such 
queries.  "Incidentally,"  Mr.  Gill  says,  "Mrs.  Cox  got 
what  she  wanted."     The  Exchange  and  Mart  saw  the  light 


Journals  and  Journalists  269 

of  day  in  May,  1868,  as  a  four-page  paper  of  the  size  of 
the  Queen. 

About  187 1  the  number  of  pages  was  greatly  increased 
in  order  to  give  more  space  to  literary  matter,  but  the  actual 
size  of  the  paper  (which  had  been  that  of  the  Queen)  was 
halved,  and  the  eight  pages  became  sixteen  pages  of  its 
present  size.  Up  to  the  time  of  its  change  the  literary 
matter  had  been  of  a  very  miscellaneous  character  without 
any  definite  scheme  about  it,  but  now  the  editorial  pages 
were  divided  up  amongst  the  various  departments  of 
the  household,  e.g.  the  drawing-room,  the  library,  the 
boudoir,  the  workshop,  the  garden,  etc.,  and  matter 
appropriate  to  each,  and  more  or  less  illustrated,  was  given 
on  a  more  liberal  scale.  The  sub-title  and  Journal  of  the 
Household  gave  the  key  to  the  revised  policy. 

The  Bazaar,  Exchange  and  Mart  was  nearly  killed 
many  years  ago  when  the  Post  Office  raised  difficulties 
about  continuing  to  register  the  paper  as  a  newspaper, 
contending  that  the  supplement  of  a  newspaper  might  not 
contain  more  pages  than  the  paper  which  it  supplemented. 
The  supplement  of  the  Bazaar  consisted  wholly  of  ad- 
vertisements, which  were  issued  in  that  form  upon  the 
suggestion  of  a  Post  Office  official,  and  it  was  apparently 
satisfactory  to  the  authorities  for  years,  even  though  it 
contained  many  more  pages  than  the  literary  section.  In 
view  of  the  rule  which  was  made  that  a  supplement  could 
not  be  larger  than  the  paper  itself,  the  Bazaar  was  struck 
off  the  list  of  registered  newspapers,  and  could  only  go 
through  the  post  at  book  rates.  As  it  was  found  impos- 
sible to  do  anything  to  bring  the  paper  within  the  re- 
quirements of  the  Post  Office,  practically  all  the  subscribers 
were  lost  and  incidentally  a  large  body  of  trade  advertisers. 
Eventually  the  difficulty  was  got  over  in  an  ingenious  way, 
by  what  Mr.  Upcott  Gill  described  to  me  as  "a  little  jug- 
glery with  the  pagination,"  and  the  Bazaar  was  readmitted 
to  the  register.     The  fact  that  a  paper  could  not  be  carried 


270  The  Street  of  Ink 

as  a  newspaper  with  one  set  of  paging,  but  was  willingly 
carried  with  another,  was,  he  said,  a  kind  of  thing  that  a 
plain  business  man  found  it  difficult  to  understand. 

There  have  been  few  radical  changes  in  the  paper  since 
the  time  it  was  altered  to  its  present  size.  It  has  moved 
with  the  times  in  extending  the  classification  of  its  ad- 
vertisements and  in  the  subject  matter  of  its  literary  section. 
The  paper  has  on  many  occasions  prosecuted  sharpers  and 
swindlers  who  sought  to  make  use  of  its  columns  for  de- 
frauding the  public,  has  established  a  successful  feature 
in  its  arbitration  department,  and  in  every  conceivable 
way  has  safeguarded  the  readers  who  use  its  columns. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Upcott  Gill  was  assisted  by  his 
brother,  Mr.  Crandon  D.  Gill,  who  retired  last  year.  The 
Bazaar  was  one  of  the  pioneers  in  employing  women  in 
office  work,  as  from  the  outset  the  entire  private  adver- 
tisement department  was  staffed  by  women,  with  Miss 
R.  C.  Gill  (Mr.  Upcott  Gill's  sister)  as  head.  vShe  con- 
ducted the  department  with  conspicuous  ability  for  many 
years,  and  when  she  gave  it  up  some  years  ago  in  order  to 
devote  herself  to  more  literary  work,  chiefly  art  criticism, 
she  was  succeeded  by  Miss  King,  who  still  holds  the 
position.  For  some  years  past  Mr.  Upcott  Gill  has  been 
ably  assisted  by  his  son,  who,  however,  on  the  outbreak 
of  war  considered  it  his  duty  to  rejoin  the  Royal  Naval 
Volunteer  Reserve.  By  the  way,  it  is  worth  recording 
that  Mr.  Upcott  Gill,  with  his  snow-white  hair  and  velvet 
coat  and  cap,  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  personalities 
in  the  Street  of  Ink. 

"LONDON   OPINION" 

As  one  of  the  successes  and  romances  of  the  Street  of 
Ink,  London  Opinion  deserves  mention  in  detail,  and  as 
Lincoln  Springfield  has  given  me  the  particulars  from  his 
own  point  of  view,  I  shall  recount  them  as  far  as  I  can  in 
his  own  racy,  conversational  words : 


Journals  and  Journalists  271 

"It  is  to  be  feared,"  he  told  me,  "that  the  circum- 
stances in  which  I  acquired  London  Opuiion  form  a  dis- 
closure calculated  to  undo  the  teaching  of  many  a  religious 
tract,  for  they  display  a  shocking  gamble.  When  the 
original  owner  of  the  paper  closed  his  City  business, 
London  Opinion  came  on  the  market,  and  although  its 
future  was  certainly  speculative,  its  possibilities  with 
careful  management  and  control  were  apparent  to  a  good 
many  people. 

"It  was  losing  money  at  that  time.  With  a  less  costly 
quality  of  paper,  and  with  a  less  princely  method  of  pub- 
lishing, it  would  not  have  done  so,  for  its  circulation  was 
then  about  200,000 — a  figure  to  which  it  had  advanced 
from  the  30,000,  which  was  all  it  was  doing  when,  three 
or  four  years  earlier,  I  had  started  as  its  acting  editor, 
with  Louis  Meyer  as  art  editor. 

"The  bank  wanted  ;^28,ooo  for  the  property,  the 
amount  it  stood  at  in  their  books  against  loans.  Meyer 
and  I  resolved  to  buy  the  thing  ourselves,  if  the  payment 
of  the  ^28,000  was  made  easy  for  us  as  regards  time. 
My  own  friends  thought  I  had  gone  stark  raving  mad. 
My  family  hoisted  signs  of  woe,  and  implored  me  to 
desist.  But  knowing  that  there  were  other  people  making 
offers,  we  jumped  in  at  the  ;^28,ooo  figure,  paying  down 
;^6,ooo  in  cash  (all  we  had  in  the  world)  and  leaving  the 
remaining  ^22,000  as  a  debenture  debt. 

"It  was  a  wild  gamble,  and  had  it  come  unstuck  it 
would  have  meant  for  both  of  us  starting  life  afresh  with 
all  our  little  savings  done  in.  But  never  do  I  want  to 
bring  off  a  better  coup  than  this  proved.  By  economies 
which  stood  out  asking  to  be  made,  we  got  the  paper  pay- 
ing from  the  first  year;  at  first  a  little,  and  then  many 
thousands  a  year,  until  the  war  came.  Even  now,  with 
our  paper  bill  ^^30,000  a  year  more  than  it  would  be  at 
normal  paper  prices,  we  are  still  managing  to  make  both 
ends  meet,  and  overlap.    I  should  have  thought  a  cataclysm 


272  The  Street  of  Ink 

such  as  that  Vvhich  started  in  August,  1914,  would  have 
killed  any  such  journal  as  L.O.  But,  au  contraire! 
Circulation  slumped  horribly  in  the  first  few  weeks  of  the 
war,  and  advertising  dropped  alarmingly,  but  things 
gradually  mended,  and  then  improved,  and  then  boomed, 
until  to-day  circulation  and  advertising,  revenue  and 
turnover  are  all  at  record  heights. 

"My  three  sons,  who  all  used  to  help  in  a  small  way 
in  the  running  of  the  paper,  are,  of  course,  now  helping 
to  strafe  the  Kaiser  (the  two  elder  boys  were  in  the 
trenches  by  Christmas,  1914);  but  in  my  daughter,  Jessie 
Springfield,  I  have  an  invaluable  assistant  editor,  who  is 
really  every  bit  as  good  at  the  game  as  I,  and  perhaps 
better;  while  in  Reginald  Arkell,  as  assistant  art  editor, 
we  have  a  most  capable  substitute  for  the  late  Louis 
Meyer.  And  Bert  Thomas,  our  cartoonist,  is  building 
up  a  great  reputation.  Both  he  and  that  versatile  genius, 
Alfred  Leete,  are  just  called  up  for  the  Army,  and  we 
shall  miss  their  splendid  work  tremendously.  Heaven 
help  them  if,  after  their  innumerable  jests  at  the  expense 
of  the  Kaiser  and  '  Little  Willie,'  either  of  them  should 
be  taken  prisoner  !  " 

Bert  Thomas,  by  the  way,  soon  after  he  came  to  Lon- 
don, and  long  before  he  joined  the  staff  of  London 
Opinion,  did  a  considerable  amount  of  work  for  the 
Morning  Leader.  I  recall  ten  pages  of  illustrations  en- 
titled "The  Pageant  of  Progress,"  which  he  drew  for  me 
at  the  time  when  pageants  were  being  held  all  over  the 
country.  Each  page  consisted  of  ten  drawings  indicating 
in  a  humorous  fashion  the  development  of  various 
representative  industries, 

Louis  Meyer,  it  will  be  remembered,  combined  his  art 
editorship  of  London  Opinion  with  running  theatrical 
ventures,  many  of  which  were  great  successes,  notably 
The  Glad  Eye.  I  believe  he  also  had  a  curio  shop  of  his 
own,  so  his  life  was  a  very  full  one. 


Journals  and  Journalists  273 

Two  of  the  most  brilliant  regular  contributors  to 
London  Opinion  are,  of  course,  James  Douglas  and  T. 
McDonald  Rendle.  Douglas's  articles  in  London 
Opinion,  as  elsewhere,  are  a  feature  of  contemporary- 
journalism,  and  occupy  a  place  of  honour  in  the  paper. 
McDonald  Rendle  enjoys  the  reputation  of  being  one  of 
the  wittiest  men  the  Street  of  Ink  has  produced,  and  his 
contributions  form  one  of  the  brightest  parts  of  an 
unusually  bright  publication. 

In  the  "money-earning  department,"  John  Hart  has 
proved  a  success,  a  fact  which  is  not  surprising. 

As  to  Lincoln  Springfield,  the  best  compliment  I  can 
pay  him  is  to  say  that  he  has  proved  worthy  of  his  early 
connection  with  the  Star,  and  I  hope  for  many  years  to 
come  this  entertaining  little  paper  will  earn  a  rich  harvest 
for  him  and  his  talented  associates. 

ODHAMS 

Some  of  the  most  popular  weeklies  are  issued  by 
Messrs.  Odhams,  the  success  of  which  must  be  attributed 
in  large  measure  to  the  ability  of  the  managing  director 
and  general  manager,  J.  S.  Elias.  Of  these  the  most 
popular  is  John  Bull,  which  is  the  property  of  a  separate 
company,  with  two  directors  only — Mr.  Elias  and  Mr. 
Horatio  Bottomley,  the  former  being  managing  director 
and  general  manager  as  in  the  case  of  Odhams, 
Ltd.,  and  the  latter  editor.  An  off-shoot  of  John 
Bull  is  Everyivoman,  which  was  originally  started 
as  Mrs.  Bull.  The  title  was  changed  because  the  pro- 
prietors thought  it  was  too  "matronly."  It  is  edited  by 
T.  Sapt,  whom  Elias  describes  as  a  man  who,  "in  addi- 
tion to  his  journalistic  ability,  has  the  greatest  power 
of  making  friends  of  any  man  I've  met."  In  this  con- 
nection he  closely  resembles  Elias  himself. 

The  Passing  Show  is  modestly  referred  to  by  Elias  as 
"a  little  venture  which  I  started  about  twenty-one 
s 


274  The  Street  of  Ink 

months  ago."  It  is  a  bright  weekly,  and  has 
achieved  a  gratifying  measure  of  success  under  the 
editorship  of  Comyns  Beaumont,  who  was  editor  of 
the  Graphic  for  some  years,  was  first  editor  of  the 
Bystander,  and  for  a  short  time  edited  the  London 
Magazine. 

Odhams  also  pubHsh  Pictures  and  the  Playgoer,  which 
appeals  to  cinema  goers,  and  is  edited  by  Fred  Danger- 
field,  who  founded  and  edited  the  Playgoer,  after  which 
he  edited  the  Play  Pictorial  for  three  years,  subsequently 
becoming  editor  of  the  Throne. 

To  show  the  growth  of  Odhams,  Elias  said  that  when 
he  joined  the  firm  a  little  over  twenty  years  ago,  less  than 
thirty  people  were  employed.  To-day  the  staff  numbers 
over  1,500,  and  he  has  thirty-six  heads  of  departments 
under  him — more,  in  fact,  than  the  staff  membership  when 
he  went  there.  Odhams  print  over  fifty  weekly  and 
monthly  magazines  and  journals,  and  publish  about 
fifteen,  and  as  he  is  only  just  over  forty-one,  his  future 
certainly  looks  rosy  ! 

He  speaks  highly  of  the  publisher,  A.  S.  Wallace,  and 
the  advertisement  manager,  Philip  Emmanuel.  He 
humorously  calls  Wallace  "the  cheerful  pessimist  of  the 
establishment,"  as  he  shows  you  all  the  bad  points  of  a 
thing  before  presenting  its  good  ones  to  the  outside 
world.  It  is  a  very  admirable  quality  for  the  commercial 
side  of  journalism  provided  the  two  constituent  parts  are 
mixed  in  the  right  proportion. 

THE  "CONNOISSEUR" 

I  should  also  like  to  mention  the  Connoisseur,  one 
of  the  most  sumptuous  periodicals  which  is  published. 
I:  was  founded  by  the  late  Herbert  Baily,  assisted  by  his 
brother,  T.  Livingstone  Baily.  Both  of  them  always  im- 
pressed me  as  able  men ;  indeed,  this  can  be  seen  from  the 
beautiful  production  with  which  their  names  are  connected. 


Journals  and  Journalists  275 

"TO-DAY" 

In  consequence  of  the  war  the  weekly  edition  was 
stopped.  Mr.  Holbrook  Jackson  has  just  told  me  that  he 
has  acquired  the  copyright  and  the  title  To-Day,  and  will 
bring  out  the  publication  as  a  sixpenny  monthly  with  a 
definite  literary  character.  He  has  courage  and  enterprise, 
both  of  which  qualities  should  bring  him  due  reward  in 
the  future,  and,  if  he  has  luck,  To-Day  will  flourish  as 
he  deserves. 

Mr.  Holbrook  Jackson  is  one  of  those  men  who  must 
write,  and  he  gave  up  a  lucrative  business  interest  in  order 
to  devote  himself  to  literature.  He  is  recognised  as 
a  leading  authority  on  literature  of  the  '"nineties," 
and  besides  being  an  able  critic,  is  a  lecturer  and  a  reviewer 
of  no  mean  order. 


CHAPTER    XIX 

THE   HOUSE   OF   CASSELL 

When  Mr.  Arthur  Spurgeon  was  appointed  general 
manager  of  the  historic  House  of  Cassell  in  1905,  that 
lirni  acquired  a  man  Avith  a  fine  record  as  an  organiser 
of  success.  He  impresses  you  as  having  all  the  qualities 
needed  for  such  a  gigantic  task  as  then  confronted  him. 
There  was,  in  fact,  a  cloud  over  La  Belle  Sauvage  Yard. 
One  heard  in  the  Street  of  Ink  that  things  were  not  going 
so  well  as  in  the  past,  and  that  Cassell 's  were  not  vigor- 
ously competing  with  the  new  tirms  which  had  arisen  to 
challenge  their  old-time  supremacy.  Mr.  Spurgeon  him- 
self says  that  the  business  was  suffering  from  a  period  of 
decline,  during  which  the  House,  relying  too  much  on  its 
traditions,  failed  to  adjust  itself  to  the  new  conditions  that 
had  arisen  in  the  publishing  world.  It  was  his  task  to 
make  the  necessary  adjustment,  and  I  can  imagine  no  more 
agreeable  prospect  for  a  man  of  his  courage  and  attain- 
ments than  that  of  reviving  the  ancient  glories  of  a  great 
firm. 

The  expression  "ancient  glories"  reminds  me  that  La 
Belle  Sauvage  was  famous  hundreds  of  years  before  it  was 
associated  with  the  publishing  trade.  When  the  Bell 
Savage  Inn  began  its  career  no  man  knoweth.  But  a  deed 
dating  from  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  is  extant  in 
which  it  is  referred  to  as  "Savage's  Inn,"  alias  "Le  Belle 
on  the  Hope,"  the  "hope,"  no  doubt,  signifying  an  ivy- 
bush  fashioned  into  a  hoop — the  "bush"  for  which  good 
wine  has  no  need.  Later  the  two  titles  were  combined 
into   "Bell   Savage,"   and   "Bell   and   Savage,"  and   later 

276 


THE    GAMBIUUGE    COACH    LEAVING    THE    BELLE    SAUVAGE    INN 

{From  a  Coloured  Litlwgrafyh  in  the  liritish  Museum 


I.NNI.K    COUKI     ol-     III)      III  I  I  I      S\t:\\(;i      l:NN 


The  House  of  Cassell  '^'11 

still  they  became  musical  in  men's  mouths  as  "La  Belle 
Sauvage."  For  long  the  tavern  was  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant of  London's  coaching  inns.  The  tenement 
consisted  of  two  courts  connected  by  an  archway,  and  the 
inn  itself,  fronted  with  two  tiers  of  galleries,  surrounded 
the  inner  court.  Here  in  the  early  days  of  the  drama  plays 
were  produced,  the  galleries  being  used  as  "boxes,"  while 
the  "groundlings"  stood  in  the  yard  below.  After  cen- 
turies of  prosperity,  with  the  coming  of  the  railways  the 
inn  ceased  to  flourish,  and  finally  was  demolished  to  make 
way  for  the  older  part  of  the  present  buildings.  But  one 
of  the  two  adjoining  pictures  will  convey  to  the  reader  a 
notion  of  the  inner  court  of  the  old  hostelry,  while 
the  other  shows  the  Cambridge  coach  just  turning 
out  of  the  inn  into  Ludgate  Hill  on  its  4^^  hours'  run  to 
the  University  town. 

Pioneers  of  the  Press. — The  name  of  Cassell  has 
always  been  an  honoured  one  in  the  Street  of  Ink.  Nothing 
undesirable  has  ever  been  associated  with  its  publications. 
Always  the  chief  aim  of  the  firm  has  been  to  produce  goo<l 
literature.  Indeed,  it  took  (and  takes)  you  from  your 
tenderest  years  and  provided  you  with  healthy  recreation 
for  your  profit  and  pleasure  through  all  the  stages  of  life 
to  your  old  age.  Thus,  as  a  child  you  may  very  possibly 
have  first  tasted  the  joys  of  popular  literature  through 
Ia\\\c  Folks,  as  a  boy  Chums  would  give  you  manly  read- 
ing, and  as  an  ambitious  youngster  you  may  have  studied 
"Cassell's  Popular  Educator."  For  light  reading  you 
have  Cassell's  Magazine  (now  enjoying  a  new  tide  of 
prosperity  as  Cassell's  Magazine  of  Fiction),  the  Stury- 
Teller,  and  the  New  Magazine.  Those  who  want  special 
"Sunday  reading"  have  the  Quiver,  and  for  what  one 
may  term  "popular"  reading  there  are  Cassell's  Saturday 
Jotirnal  and  the  Penny  Magazine. 

In  these  and  other  ways  the  House  of  Cassell,  in  Mr. 
Spurgeon's  words,  "has  since  its  foundation  continued  the 


278  The  Street  of  Ink 

publication  of  the  educational,  general  and  popular  maga- 
zine literature  upon  which  its  early  prosperity  was 
founded."  Spurgeon's  predecessor  at  Cassell's  was  Sir 
Wemyss  Reid,  who  came  to  La  Belle  Sauvage  from 
the  editorial  chair  of  the  Leeds  Mercury  in  1887,  and  was 
general  manager  until  his  death.  Mr.  Spurgeon,  as  I 
have  pointed  out,  has  a  stronger  connection  with  the  Press, 
as  in  addition  to  being  managing  director  of  Cassell's  he 
is  chairman  of  the  company  which  owns  the  Western  Daily 
Mercury  and  the  Western  Evening  Herald  of  Plymouth. 
The  standing  of  these  papers  is  another  evidence  of  his 
versatility  and  of  his  business  gifts.  I  must  also  mention 
in  this  connection  the  proof  he  gave  of  his  journalistic 
ability  when  he  sent  to  the  British  Press,  from  the 
Carmania,  an  account  of  the  burning  of  the  VoUurno  in 
mid  Atlantic  in  October,  1913.  A  wireless  description  of 
a  disaster  at  sea  sent  from  the  actual  scene  was  unique  in 
the  annals  of  the  British  Press,  and  the  achievement  was 
recognised  by  means  of  a  luncheon  given  in  Mr,  Spur- 
geon's honour  under  the  chairmanship  of  Lord  Burnham. 
He  has  also  other  business  interests  in  which  he  has  again 
displayed  his  talent  for  compelling  success  to  attend  a 
languishing  prosperity,  but,  as  he  told  me  recently,  he 
thinks  he  has  achieved  enough  reputation  in  this  respect 
to  warrant  his  suspending  any  further  extension  of  his 
activities. 

The  chairman  of  the  board  of  directors  is  Sir  Clarence 
Smith,  J. P.,  who  has  held  that  position  since  1905.  Soon 
after  Mr.  Spurgeon's  appointment  as  general  manager,  Sir 
Malcolm  Morris,  K.C.V.O.,  who  had  for  many  years  been 
medical  editor  of  the  House,  and  had  in  fact  created  the 
successful  medical  book  department,  joined  the  board. 

Some  Departmental  Managers. — For  many  years  the 
chief  editor  was  that  genial  and  popular  cleric,  the  late 
Canon  Teignmouth  Shore.  He  left  behind  him  a  reputa- 
tion   as  a   great   organiser.     I    have   been   told   that    his 


The  House  of  Cassell  279 

department  was  in  such  a  high  state  of  efficiency  that  he 
kept  his  linger  on  the  pulse  of  all  the  publications,  and  yet 
only  spent  a  few  hours  a  day  in  the  office.  The  rest  of 
his  time  was  devoted  to  his  ecclesiastical  work,  which  he 
performed  with  such  conspicuous  ability  that  he  became 
one  of  the  Chaplains  to  Queen  Victoria.  The  present  chief 
editor  is  Mr.  Newman  Flower,  who  is  also  a  director  of  the 
company.  He  is  responsible  for  the  literary  side  of  the 
House,  both  books  and  periodicals. 

Thomas  Young,  another  director,  I  have  known  for 
many  years.  His  ability  cannot  be  better  shown  than  by 
recording  the  fact  that  he  has  succeeded  in  increasing 
the  revenue  of  his  department  over  50  per  cent.,  not- 
withstanding the  strenuous  times  which  have  been  wit- 
nessed since  he  took  charge.  A.  E.  Hartley,  who  holds 
the  important  position  of  publisher,  I  have  also  known 
for  many  years,  and  the  same  applies  to  Robb  Lawson, 
whose  ability  as  a  producer  of  "books  about  books  "  called 
forth  a  poem  in  the  Sphere  only  the  other  day.  (The  cause 
was  his  description  of  Arnold  Bennett's  new  book  as 
"Bennett's  Brightest,"  and  the  poet  humorously  parodied 
his  peculiar  talent  for  terse  descriptions  of  new  books.) 
A.  E.  Watson,  who  joined  the  firm  in  August,  19 14, 
is  the  manager  of  the  book  department.  B.  Whitworth 
Hird  manages  another  important  department  which  has 
been  well  known  for  more  than  half  a  century  as  Cassell's 
General  Press.  This  branch  of  the  business  supplies 
partly  printed  issues  to  the  provinces,  as  well  as  the 
week's  news  in  stereo  and  long  and  short  stories  for 
newspapers. 

Some  Literary  Successes. — To  go  back  to  the  his- 
torical part  of  the  story  for  a  moment,  Cassell's  were  one 
of  the  pioneers  in  creating  a  taste  for  cheap  reprints  of 
literary  masterpieces.  They  have  followed  up  the  National 
Library,  of  which  the  editor  was  the  late  Henry  Morlev, 
witii    the    l^eople's    Library   and   similar  series.       Of   the 


28o  The  Street  of  Ink 

People's  Library  over  two  and  a  half  millions  of  volumes 
have  been  sold. 

Probably  the  most  notable  event  in  the  history  of  the 
House  was  the  publication  in  1883  of  Stevenson's 
"Treasure  Island,"  of  which  over  one  million  copies  have 
been  sold.  The  book  was  offered  through  W.  E.  Henley, 
at  that  time  editor  of  the  Magazine  of  Art.  I  was  told  that 
Stevenson  was  so  overjoyed  at  the  prospect  of  receiving 
one  hundred  pounds  on  publication  that  he  seems  to  have 
overlooked  the  fact  that  this  was  on  account  of  royalty. 
"  Really,  a  hundred  pounds  is  a  sight  more  than  '  Treasure 
Island  '  is  worth,"  he  wrote  to  Henley,  and  this  and  similar 
remarks  in  other  letters  have  created  the  impression,  which 
has  more  than  once  found  its  way  into  print,  that  he  parted 
with  all  his  rights  in  the  book  for  one  hundred  pounds. 
Mr.  Spurgeon  says  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  royalties  are 
still  being  paid  upon  the  book,  as  well  as  those  which 
followed— "Kidnapped,"  "The  Black  Arrow,"  "The 
Master  of  Ballantrae,"  "Catriona,"  "Island  Nights'  Enter- 
tainments," and  "The  Wrecker."  "Treasure  Island" 
alone  has  already  earned  in  royalties  about  six  thousand 
pounds.  In  1894  "Treasure  Island"  ran  through  Chums 
as  a  serial,  and  the  news  of  Stevenson's  death  reached  this 
country  just  as  the  editor  was  sending  the  final  instalment 
to  press.  "The  End"  of  the  story  was  therefore  followed 
by  the  announcement  of  the  end  of  the  author's  life.  It 
was  by  the  House  of  Cassell  that  the  Pentland  Edition  of 
Stevenson's  works  was  printed. 

Another  interesting  event  was  the  publication  of  Rider 
Haggard's  first  big  success,  "King  Solomon's  Mines." 
This,  too,  was  offered  through  Henley,  and  its  author  has 
frankly  confessed  that  he  never  expected  any  particular 
success  for  it,  and  that  it  had  been  refused  by  several  houses 
before  it  found  its  w-ay  into  Henley's  hands. 

Sir  James  Barrie's  delightful  "Little  Minister  "  was  one 
of  the  last  novels  to  be  published  in  three-volume  form, 


The  House  of  Cassell  281 

and  the  first  to  be  published  by  an  English  author  under 
the  new  American  Copyright  Act. 

Rather  an  interesting  story  is  told  me  about  Justin 
McCarthy's  "History  of  Our  Own  Times."  The  book 
was  to  have  been  published  by  Cassell,  Petter  &  Galpin, 
but  owing  to  the  Irish  question  becoming  acute  and  the 
author  being  a  prominent  member  of  the  Irish  party,  the 
firm  were  afraid  of  antagonising  public  opinion,  and  de- 
cided not  to  proceed  with  the  publication.  The  question 
which  arose  was  referred  to  the  arbitration  of  Mr.  (after- 
wards Sir  John)  Robinson,  of  the  Daily  News,  in  order 
that  he  might  fix  the  terms  upon  which  the  contract  should 
be  cancelled,  and  he  awarded  the  author  a  substantial  sum. 

One  of  the  most  important  books  published  by  the 
firm  is  Sir  Donald  Mackenzie  Wallace's  "Russia."  When 
he  came  back  from  Russia,  after  six  years'  residence 
there,  he  brought  the  manuscript  of  a  gigantic  treatise 
on  the  history  and  actual  conditions  of  the  country,  the 
size  of  which,  however,  prevented  it  from  being  ac- 
cepted by  the  publishers  to  whom  he  submitted  it.  He 
was  engaged  in  condensing  it  into  a  small  volume  for 
private  distribution  when  he  received  a  visit  from  his 
friend  Mr.  Ralston,  of  the  British  Museum,  who  told 
him  that  having  been  invited  by  Messrs.  Cassell  to  write 
a  popular  book  on  "Russia"  he  had  recommended  the 
hrm  to  apply  to  him.  As  a  result  Wallace  had  an  inter- 
view with  Canon  Teignmouth  vShore  and,  though  at  first 
averse  from  attempting  a  popular  book,  he  at  last  agreed 
to  write  a  large  work  of  the  Ivind  desired  within  three 
months.  Early  in  1877  "Russia"  appeared  in  two  stout 
volumes,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  months  the  Avork  was 
translated  into  French,  German,  vSwedish,  Danish,  Hun- 
garian, Russian  and  Croatian,  and  later  into  T^innish  and 
several  Oriental  tongues.  Sir  Donald  lias  recently  re- 
corded that  in  drawing  u|)  thr  coniract  il  had  been  agreed, 
simf)ly  as  "a  customary  formality,"  that  after  iIh"  sale  of 


282  The  Street  of  Ink 

a  certain  number  of  copies  (which  was  far  beyond  his 
most  sanguine  expectations)  the  copyright  should  become 
the  absolute  property  of  Messrs.  Cassell  and  his  royalty 
should  cease.  Very  soon,  however,  the  unlooked-for 
number  was  passed,  whereupon  the  firm,  without  any  re- 
presentation on  his  part,  did  not  put  the  customary 
formality  into  force,  but  continued  to  pay  the  royalty 
afterwards. 

Cassell's  also  published  Colonel  Burnaby's  "Ride  to 
Khiva,"  which  was  Avritten  as  the  result  of  a  conversation 
between  Canon  Shore  and  the  author  at  the  Albany  Street 
barracks.  Burnaby  recounted  to  his  guest  some  of  the 
incidents  of  his  famous  journey,  and  Canon  Shore  ad- 
vised him  to  write  a  book  on  the  subject.  He  objected 
that  he  was  not  an  author,  but  was  assured  that  if  he  just 
wrote  down  his  stories  in  the  style  in  which  he  had  told 
them  the  book  would  "go,"  and  Canon  Shore  guaranteed 
that  it  would  be  accepted  by  the  firm.  The  book  was  pub- 
lished in  1876,  and  ran  through  seven  editions  in  the  first 
twelve  months. 

Among  other  distinguished  authors  whose  names 
appear  in  the  catalogue  are  Quiller  Couch,  E.  F.  Benson, 
Eden  Phillpotts,  Conan  Doyle,  Mrs.  Humphry  Ward, 
Arnold  Bennett,  and  H.  G.  Wells,  whose  "Mr.  Britling 
Sees  It  Through,"  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  is  one  of 
the  greatest  successes  of  the  present  publishing  season. 

The  First  Halfpenny  London  Daily. — The  House 
of  Cassell  has  from  its  earliest  days  been  indirectly  associ- 
ated with  the  daily  Press.  Cassell,  Fetter  &  Galpin  started 
the  Echo  at  the  disused  Pantheon  Theatre,  Catherine 
Street,  Strand,  in  December,  1868.  It  was  indirectly  a 
cause  of  the  establishment  of  the  halfpenny  post.  When 
the  late  A.  J.  Mundella  was  elected  to  the  House  of 
Commons  he  made  a  speech  in  favour  of  the  reduction 
of  postage  for  printed  matter,  and  through  ignorance  of 
the  rules  of  the  House  flourished  a  copy  of  the  Echo  to 


The  House  of  Cassell  28 


o 


support  his  argument  that  it  was  absurd  that  a  penny 
should  be  charged  to  transmit  from  one  side  of  London 
to  the  other  a  newspaper  which  was  sold  for  a  halfpenny. 
The  halfpenny  post  came  into  operation  a  few  months 
afterwards. 

Magazine  Developments. — When  Mr.  Spurgeon 
assumed  control  of  the  organisation  at  La  Belle  Sauvage 
he  inaugurated  a  period  of  reconstruction.  He  decided 
that  there  was  a  growing  demand  for  fiction  and  a 
lessened  demand  for  articles  on  miscellaneous  topics.  The 
brilliant  success  of  the  Story-Teller  and  the  New  Maga- 
zine, which  produced  many  imitators,  showed  the 
shrewdness  of  his  judgment.  It  is  interesting  to  learn 
from  him  that  large  illustrated  topographical  works  are 
less  in  favour  than  they  were,  but  the  demand  for  popular 
works  on  natural  history  shows  no  sign  of  slackening. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  technical  works  on  handicrafts, 
etc.,  and  there  is  a  constant  demand  for  memoirs,  books 
on  travel,  topical  books,  and  also  for  books  for  juveniles. 

Into  every  department  new  life  and  vigour  were  in- 
fused. Under  D,  G.  Milne,  appointed  manager  of  the 
printing  department  in  1906,  that  department  has  been 
brought  to  a  state  of  the  highest  efficiency.  There  are 
fast  rotary  machines  for  book  work  as  well  as  for  peri- 
odicals, the  linotype  machines  have  been  supplemented 
by  monotypes,  there  are  automatic  gathering  and  cover- 
ing machines  for  binding  magazines,  and  fast-running 
Miehle  perfecting  machines  and  two-colour  machines.  All 
the  machinery  is  driven  by  electric  power,  and  each 
machine  has  its  own  independent  motor.  The  works  are 
now  lighted  by  high-pressure  gas  and  electricity. 

A  Popular  "Chief." — During  the  period  of  decadence 
the  annual  staff  dinner  and  the  wayzgoose  fell  into  abey- 
ance. Both  have  been  revived,  though  suspended  during 
the  continuance  of  the  war.  At  the  staff  dinner  in  191 1 
Mr.  Spurgeon  received  a  jubilee  presentation  from  some 


284  The  Street  of  Ink 

I, Goo  of  the  employees,  in  the  form  of  a  gold  cigarette 
case  inscribed  "To  Arthur  Spurgeon,  with  loyal  regards 
for  their  chief.  This  offering  from  every  worker  of  the 
House  of  Cassell  at  home  and  abroad." 

I  have  only  been  able  to  indicate  the  activities  which 
Mr.  Spurgeon  inspires.  The  result  of  his  efforts  is  patent 
to  all  in  the  reawakened  success  which  has  attended  this 
long-established  and  honourable  firm.  During  the  dififi- 
cult  period  of  the  war  the  strength  of  the  organisation  is 
being  quietly  added  to,  and  when  peace  comes  with  its 
opportunities  there  is  no  doubt  that  many  fresh  records 
will  be  established.  All  those  who  know  their  "Street  of 
Ink"  well  are  aware  that  the  staff  will  respond  to  what- 
ever calls  are  made  upon  them  by  a  chief  who  is  uni- 
versally respected  in  every  circle  of  life  that  he  may  choose 
to  move  in.  He  is  a  man  whom  nature  made  for  the 
heights.  Always  he  emerges  at  the  top,  and  as  a  final 
proof  of  this  I  may  mention  that  early  in  1916,  seven  years 
after  he  had  been  raised  to  the  Commission  of  the  Peace  for 
Surrey,  he  was  elected  chairman  of  the  Croydon  County 
Bench  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  his  colleagues.  Many 
charities  also  owe  much  to  his  untiring  efforts,  and  the 
great  amount  of  public  and  philanthropic  work  which  he 
gets  through  stamps  him  as  one  of  those  rare  men  who, 
although  the  busiest  of  their  kind,  seem  always  to  find 
leisure  to  pursue  outside  work  for  the  benefit  of  their 
fellow  men.  The  House  of  Cassell  is  fortunate  in  its 
chief,  and  he,  I  know,  is  in  the  place  where  he  would 
most  wish  to  be. 


CHAPTER  XX 

GEORGE  NEWNES,    LIMITED 

Part  of  the  story  of  the  birth  of  the  popular  Press,  and 
all  of  the  story  of  the  firm  of  George  Newnes,   Limited, 
starts  with  the  inception  of   Tit-Bits.     Mr.   Newnes  was 
then  engaged  in  business  in  the  district  of  Manchester  and 
Liverpool.     He  was  always  fond  of  good  stories,  and  one 
evening   whilst   reading   a   Manchester  evening  paper  at 
home  he  came  across  a  report  of  an  exciting  incident  which 
was  well  and  dramatically  reported.     When  he  had  read 
it  he  remarked,   "Now  this  is  what  I  call  a  real  tit-bit. 
Why   does   not  somebody  bring  out  a  paper  containing 
nothing  but  tit-bits  like  this?"     That  incident  seemed  to 
bring  to  a  head  all  the  vague  ideas  which  had  been  running 
through  his  mind  for  a  long  time,  and  he  determined  to 
work  out  his  inspiration  on  a  practical  basis.     But  when 
he  had  done  this  he  lacked  the  necessary  financial  backing. 
A    successful    merchant    whom    he    knew   declined    to   be 
associated   with   the  venture,    so   did  a   Manchester  firm, 
which,  it  may  be  mentioned,  after  refusing  to  finance  him 
to  the  extent  of  ^'500,  offered  him  /,' 10,000  for  the  publica- 
tion only  six  weeks  after  the  first  number  had  taken  Man- 
rliesler  by  storm.     Six  months  afterwards  a  London  pub- 
lisher  offered    ;^30,ooo.     But    Mr.    Newnes  knew   better. 
He  had,   with   the  enterprise  which   was  characteristic  of 
him,    found   the  money   himself  by  running  a  vegetarian 
restaurant  on  original  lines.     There  is  a  good  story  told  of 
him  in  this  connection.     On  one  occasion  his  brother-in- 
law  wished  to  consult  him  on  an  urgent  matter,  and  not 
finding   him   at   the   premises  of   "The   Vegetarian    Com- 

28- 


286  The  Street  of  Ink 

pany's  Saloon,"  made  a  thorough  search  for  him  without 
success.  Finally  he  went  to  a  hotel  to  have  some  lunch, 
and  to  his  surprise  who  should  be  sitting  there,  enjoying 
a  fine  beef  steak,  but  the  errant  proprietor  of  the  flourish- 
ing vegetarian  restaurant,  who  remarked,  with  a  quiet 
chuckle,  "Everyone  to  his  fancy." 

Unsuccessful  Imitators. — I  had  some  pleasant  chats 
with  him  in  his  later  years  when  he  was  controlling  his 
great  enterprises.  He  founded  Tit-Bits  in  October,  1881, 
and  was,  I  suppose,  the  first  journalist  who  realised  fully 
the  extent  of  the  possibilities  presented  by  the  spread  of 
education  among  the  masses.  Within  six  months  of  the 
issue  of  the  first  number,  eleven  similar  papers  had  been 
brought  out.  They  did  not  survive,  but  Tit-Bits  did,  and 
has  continued  to  flourish  ever  since. 

From  the  first.  Sir  George  had  no  doubts  about  the 
success  of  Tit-Bits.  "I  declared  to  a  friend,"  he  once 
said,  "that  within  a  year  the  circulation  of  the  paper 
would  be  300,000.  We  had  a  small  wager  about  it 
— a  new  hat.  I  received  that  hat  in  due  course,  and 
a  message  from  the  loser  to  say  how  pleased  he  was 
to  lose." 

Sir  George  was  a  man  of  boundless  energy.  Long 
after  the  business  had  developed  to  great  dimensions, 
and  when  the  editorial  department  comprised  a  large  and 
efficient  staff,  he  would  never  allow  a  number  of  Tit-Bits 
to  appear  of  which  every  proof-sheet  had  not  passed 
through  his  hands.  He  would  sometimes  say,  when  re- 
calling those  early  days  of  incessant  activity  and  mar- 
vellously rapid  success :  "  Man  alive,  what  times  those 
were,  and  how  we  worked.  Looking  back,  it  seems  as  if 
we  never  left  off  for  weeks  and  months  together !  But 
though  life  was  almost  too  crowded,  and  any  number  of 
difficulties  had  to  be  overcome  and  new  ideas  worked  out, 
not  knowing  whether  they  would  catch  on  or  not,  I  do  not 
remember  any  time  of  my  life  into  which  we  crowded  as 


George  Nevvnes,  Limited  2S7 

much  interest  and  enjoyment  as  into  the  first  few  years 
after  Tit-Bits  was  started." 

Tit-Bits  scored  its  first  great  success  in  "circulation 
raising "  by  making  each  copy  a  policy  of  insurance 
against  railway  accidents.  It  was  the  first  paper  to  do  this, 
and  the  circulation  increased  to  seven  hundred  thousand. 
This  success  was  followed  up  by  offers  of  gigantic 
prizes,  starting  off  with  a  gift  of  a  seven-roomed  house 
which  was  won  by  a  soldier,  and  proceeding  to  competi- 
tions such  as  limericks,  hidden  treasure,  and  so  forth. 

When  Arthur  Pearson  left  the  firm  to  carve  out  his  own 
fortune,  Sir  George  Newnes  offered  his  position  to  Mr. 
Galloway  Fraser,  then  editor  of  the  Scottish  Liberal,  who 
has  now  been  editor  of  Tit-Bits  for  over  twenty  years. 

About  1890  Sir  George  Newnes  was  staying  at  the 
house  he  then  had  at  Torquay,  when  W.  T.  Stead  wrote 
to  him  suggesting  ideas  for  three  new  periodicals.  Sir 
George  at  once  wrote  back  that  he  liked  one  of  the  ideas, 
and  said  that  he  would  return  to  town  immediately,  the 
result  being  that  in  four  weeks'  time  the  Review  of  Re- 
views appeared.  But  they  were  both  men  of  strong  in- 
dividuality, and  although  the  magazine  was  a  great  success 
from  the  start,  after  a  few  months  they  found  they  could 
not  work  together,  and  Mr.  Stead  bought  Sir  George  out 
and  took  the  Review  of  Reviews  elsewhere. 

The  Coming  of  the  "Strand." — Being  thus  left  with 
the  organisation  for  publishing  a  magazine  with  a  large 
circulation,  Sir  George  at  once  set  to  work  to  create  some- 
thing new  to  take  its  place,  and  hit  on  the  idea  of  an  illus- 
trated magazine  with  a  picture  on  everv  page.  About 
the  same  time  he  had  a  letter  from  Mr,  II.  Greenhough 
Smith,  who  was  then  with  the  Bentleys,  suggesting  the 
publication  of  a  magazine  containing  translations  of 
stories  by  well-known  foreign  authors.  The  result  was 
that  Sir  George  incorporated  this  idea  witii  his  own  and 
the  Strand  Magadne  came  into  being.     Mr.  Greenhough 


288  The  Street  of  Ink 

Smith,   by  the  way,  still  remains  the  editor,  and  a  very 
brilliant  man  he  is,  too. 

A  Weekly  that  Stands  Alone. — Sir  George  Newnes 
had  an  instinct  for  successful  ideas,  and  was  quick  to 
appreciate  the  possibilities  of  any  suggestions  made  to  him. 
One  day  Mr.  Edward  Hudson,  one  of  the  directors  of  the 
well-known  printing  firm  of  Hudson  and  Kearns,  came  to 
Sir  George  with  the  idea  of  publishing  an  album  of 
portraits  of  famous  cricketers  and  footballers.  This  turned 
out  such  a  tremendous  success  that  Sir  George  and  Mr. 
Hudson  went  into  further  enterprises  together.  They 
decided  that  there  was  a  good  opening  for  the  publication 
of  a  periodical  dealing  with  country  matters  like  sport  and 
agriculture,  and  also  architecture  and  artistic  matters 
generally.  The  idea  was  to  make  it  the  most  beauti- 
fully printed  paper  in  the  world,  so  that  these  artistic 
features  should  look  well.  Country  Life,  as  the  paper 
was  called,  proved  to  be  a  notable  success,  and  was  after- 
wards formed  into  a  separate  company,  and  one  may  say 
without  fear  of  contradiction  that  it  is  now  generally 
recognised  as  an  ideal  paper  for  the  country  gentleman. 
The  major  portion  of  the  credit  for  this  magnificent 
"weekly"  belongs  to  Edward  Hudson,  wdio  is  also  a 
director  of  George  Newnes,  Limited.  I  only  wish  I  could 
do  justice  to  the  whole  story  of  his  success,  but  space  will 
not  permit  more  than  this  passing  tribute,  with  the  addi- 
tional remark  that  his  colleagues  have  often  spoken 
charmingly  of  him  to  me  so  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  their 
high  opinion  of  his  abilities. 

Sir  George  was  once  asked  if  he  could  reveal  the 
secret  of  his  success.  His  answer  was  characteristic  of 
him.  "Most  people  have  no  idea  of  doing  anything  beyond 
what  they  may  have  seen  done  before  and  what  they 
are  told  to  do;  they  are  frightened  by  originality  lest  it 
might  be  disastrous.  I  suppose  I  have  been  inclined  to 
do  things  differently  rather  than  the  same  as  other  people, 


George  Newnes,  Limited  289 

and  I  have  always  struck  while  the  iron  was  hot.  That, 
I  think,  to  put  it  briefly,  is  the  secret  of  any  success 
which  has  attended  my  efforts." 

The  Men  at  the  Helm. — Throughout  increased  com- 
petition and  the  difficult  days  caused  by  the  war  the 
activities  of  the  firm  have  been  well  looked  after  by 
a  most  able  board  of  directors,  including  Sir  George 
Riddell,  the  chief  proprietor  of  the  News  of  the  World, 
a  journalistic  "man  of  push  and  go."  To  my  surprise 
he  has  never  yet  given  full  play  to  his  powers  by  extend- 
ing his  activities  to  the  London  daily  Press.  He  joined 
the  board  in  1906,  and  began  to  take  a  very  active  part 
in  the  management  of  the  company.  His  great  versa- 
tility of  mind  and  business  enterprise  found  wide  scope 
in  the  carrying  on  of  the  business,  and  he  and  his  col- 
leagues have  done  wonders  for  it,  as  is  proved  by  the 
enhanced  profits  earned  since  his  association  with  the  firm. 
It  is  worth  mentioning  that  the  position  of  this  goahead 
publishing  house  continues  to  be  a  very  strong  one  and, 
despite  the  war,  the  policy  followed  by  the  board  has 
produced  gratifying  results. 

My  friend  Sir  Frank  Newnes,  who  is  the  chairman 
of  the  directors,  represents  his  father's  traditions,  which 
may  also  be  said  of  Alfred  Johnson,  whose  father 
was  secretary  of  the  company  when  I  used  to  visit 
Southampton  Street  many  years  ago.  Johnson  fils  (to 
adopt  the  expressive  French  mode)  succeeded  H.  A.  Daw- 
son in  the  important  position  which  he  has  now  occupied 
for  many  years.  I  first  met  him  when  he  was  still  a 
comparative  youth,  and  when  probably  even  he  hardly 
anticipated  that  he  would  rise  to  become  a  director  of  the 
powerful  company  for  which  he  has  worked  loyally  for 
so  many  years.  After  Johnson's  father  retired  he  was 
succeeded  by  Horace  Cole,  who  has  been  secretary  of 
George  Newnes,  Limited,  ever  since.  The  directorate  is  com- 
pleted by,  or  rather  would  be  incomplete  without  Walter 


290  The  Street  of  Ink 

Grierson,  who  came  to  the  firm  from  T.P.'s  Weekly, 
and  Emsley  Carr,  the  well-known  editor  of  the  News  of 
the  World.  Grierson  has  added  greatly  to  his  reputa- 
tion by  fulfilling  the  high  expectations  which  were 
entertained  of  his  ability  when  he  joined  the  firm  as 
general  manager.  Frank  Newnes,  I  should  add,  is  also  (in 
association  with  Sir  George  Riddell)  a  director  of  Messrs. 
C.  Arthur  Pearson,  Limited,  besides  being  a  director 
of  the  Westminster  Gazette.  He  is  a  keen  and  popular 
sportsman,  and  while  in  the  House  of  Commons  he  won 
the  Parliamentary  Golf  Handicap.  For  years  he  has 
been  a  keen  motorist,  though  I  regret  to  say  he  has  not 
always  kept  within  the  proper  speed  limits.  On  one  occa- 
sion he  had  to  appear  before  the  "beak"  at  Bow  Street 
on  a  charge  of  furious  driving  and  was  fined  ;^2.  The 
magistrate  was  Sir  Albert  de  Rutzen,  whom  he  did  not 
know  at  the  time.  Later  Newnes  had  his  revenge  by 
"stealing"  his  daughter,  as  he  married  the  charming 
Miss  De  Rutzen  !  A  happy  illustration  of  "out  of  evil 
Cometh  good !  " 

Messrs.  George  Newnes,  Limited,  are  joint  proprietors 
with  Messrs.  Hodder  and  Stoughton  of  the  Woman  at 
Home  and  Girl's  Realm.  It  was  started  as  Annie 
Swan's  Magazine,  and  is  edited  by  Miss  Alice  Head, 
who  numbers  Annie  S.  Swan  among  her  most  valued 
contributors.  The  Girl's  Realm  was  bought  in  1915 
and  amalgamated  with  the  Woman  at  Home,  and  the 
combination  of  these  two  favourite  journals  has  proved  a 
decided  success. 


CHAPTER    XXI 

THE  AMALGAMATED  PRESS 

Just  over  twenty-eight  years  ago  one  of  the  greatest  news- 
paper enterprises  in  the  w^orld  was  born  in  a  small  first-floor 
room  at  26  Paternoster  Square,  which  was  rented  at 
I2S.  6d.  per  week.  From  that  apartment,  which  was 
divided  into  tw^o  by  a  matchboard  partition,  forming  an 
editorial  and  a  publishing  office,  the  Amalgamated  Press 
has  grown. 

The  romance  of  that  business  is  well  known  and  much 
detail  of  those  early  days  would  be  superfluous,  but  starting 
with  a  first  number  circulation  of  about  thirteen  thousand 
for  Ansivers,  the  activities  of  the  office  grew  and  expanded 
until  they  overflowed  into  a  number  of  other  oiBces,  and 
finally  met  together  in  the  specially  built  Fleetway  House, 
from  which  some  fifty  weekly  publications,  in  addition  to 
other  periodicals  published  at  longer  intervals,  are  issued 
with  sales  of  over  eight  and  a  half  millions  a  week. 
Roughly,  three  thousand  people  form  the  permanent  staff, 
and  associated  a\  ith  the  undertaking  are  the  great  paper 
mills  in  Newfoundland,  printing  and  paperworks  at  Graves- 
end,  printing  ink  works  and  printing  works  at  Southwark, 
and  further  printing  works  in  Whitefriars  Street. 

A  Clever  Idea. — I  can  remember  one  of  the  bright 
advertising  ideas  used  to  popularise  Answers.  A  number 
of  sandwichmen  were  sent  out,  respectably  garbed,  and 
carrying  with  their  boards  paper  and  pencil.  The  passers- 
by  were  invited  by  means  of  a  message  on  the  boards  to 
write  on  a  piece  of  paper  any  questions  that  they  wanted 
answered,  and  hand  them  to  tlie  board  men.  These  were 
answered  in  the  paper  in  the  following  week.     It  was  in- 

291 


292  The  Street  of  Ink 

genious  and  clever,  but  it  was  not  by  means  of  the  original 
idea  that  success  was  obtained.  In  his  first  venture,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Daily  Mirror,  Lord  NorthclifTe,  the  founder, 
had  to  make  radical  changes  before  he  attained  the  measure 
of  success  at  which  he  was  aiming. 

As  Answers  was  being  developed  from  Answers  to 
Correspondents  into  a  more  popular  and  readable  journal, 
the  young  editor's  restless  and  characteristic  search  for 
new  ideas  became  more  and  more  active.  Week  by  week 
something  new  was  evolved.  Prizes  of  free  trips  to  the 
Paris  Exhibition,  and  Answers  puzzles  combined  with 
other  methods  of  enterprise  helped  to  establish  the  new 
journal,  and  at  the  end  of  the  first  year  the  circulation  was 
about  forty-eight  thousand  a  week,  and  a  profit  of  just  over 
a  thousand  pounds  had  been  earned.  This  was  a  satisfac- 
tory start,  but  better  times  were  coming.  By  the  end  of 
another  year  that  profit  had  grown  fivefold,  and  within 
six  years  fiftyfold. 

The  year  1889  marked  an  epoch  in  the  destinies  of  the 
firm.  In  October  Answers  offered  a  prize  of  one  pound  a 
week  for  life  for  the  estimate  which  approximated  most  cor- 
rectly to  the  amount  of  cash  at  the  Banking  Department  of 
the  Bank  of  England  at  the  close  of  a  given  day  in  the 
following  month.  The  competition  created  a  sensation 
and  718,000  postcards,  each  signed  by  six  people,  were 
received  at  the  offices.  The  prize-winner's  estimate  was 
within  two  pounds  of  the  actual  amount,  and  when  the 
competition  was  over  the  circulation  of  Answers  was  round 
about  the  hundred  thousand  mark. 

In  i88g,  also,  a  young  man  joined  the  staff,  who  now, 
in  addition  to  being  chairman  of  the  Amalgamated  Press, 
Limited,  has  been  associated  with  the  business  for  a  longer 
period  than  anyone  at  present  connected  with  it.  I  refer, 
of  course,  to  George  Sutton,  whose  upward  career  I  have 
watched  with  personal  interest  and  pleasure  during  the 
many  years  I  have  known  him.     He  reminded  me  the  other 


The  Amalgamated  Press  293 

day  that  he  began  his  newspaper  career  on  the  commercial 
statf  of  the  Star  when  that  paper  was  started  in  1888,  and 
as  the  offices  were  in  Stonecutter  Street  he  immediately 
faced  the  site  of  the  office  which  he  now  occupies  in 
Fleetway  House. 

He  confirmed  my  own  view  (and  the  one  which  is 
generally  held)  that  the  success  of  the  Amalgamated  Press 
is  very  largely  due  to  the  initiative  of  Lord  Northcliffe, 
whose  gifts  found  an  admirable  complement  in  the  financial 
and  organising  ability  of  his  brother,  Lord  Rothermere, 
who  between  them  formed  a  combination  which  is  probably 
unique  in  the  history  of  the  newspaper  and  journalistic 
world. 

Early  Members  of  the  Staff. — It  has  always  been 
an  axiom  of  mine,  and  one  which  I  never  lose  a  chance 
of  impressing  upon  my  own  staff,  that  no  man  can 
win  a  great  battle  by  himself.  Delegate,  delegate, 
delegate,  is  in  my  opinion  one  of  the  fundamental 
rules  of  success  in  business.  Lord  Northcliffe  and  Lord 
Rothermere  would  never  have  built  up  the  Amalgamated 
Press  without  the  assistance  of  an  energetic  band  of  lieu- 
tenants, and  they  gathered  these  round  their  banner  by 
extending  the  opportunity  of  great  rewards  for  good  w^ork. 
(Max  Pemberton,  by  the  way,  was  originally  a  member  of 
the  staff  of  Ansivers.)  They  adopted  the  second  principle 
that  the  best  way  to  make  a  department  grow  was  to  give 
the  man  in  charge  a  pecuniary  interest  in  its  success.  It 
was,  I  believe,  comparatively  common  for  a  man  earning  a 
very  modest  weekly  salary  to  draw  some  thousands  a  year 
in  commission.  As  a  case  in  point,  there  used  to  be  a 
young  man  employed  by  George  Newnes,  Limited,  who 
was  regarded  by  some  of  his  unambitious  colleagues  as 
being  rather  peculiar  owing  to  his  habit  of  taking  work 
home  with  him  and  assigning  as  the  reason  the  fact  that 
he  intended  to  get  on  I  This  young  man  joined  the 
"Answers   outfit,"   and   eventually   became  one   of   those 


294  The  Street  of  Ink 

drawing  a  small  salary  and  a  commission.  The  commis- 
sion, however,  grew  well  into  five  figures  annually,  and 
when  Hamilton  Edwards  was  bought  out  a  year  or  two 
back  he  left  with  a  considerable  fortune.  He  was  at  one 
time  proprietor  of  the  World,  and  w-hereas  I  run  across 
him  at  frequent  intervals,  the  Street  of  Ink  doesn't  see  him 
much  these  days,  although  rumours  of  big  transactions, 
in  which  he  is  interested  in  different  parts  of  the  world, 
reach  us  from  time  to  time. 

Fresh  Developments. — After  Answers  came  a  series 
of  periodicals  for  boys,  which  was  followed  by  a  number  of 
papers  for  women,  of  which  the  first  was  Forget-me-not. 
One  of  my  closest  friends  says  that  among  the  most  vivid 
recollections  of  his  boyhood  are  the  papers  which  the  firm 
issued  at  that  time.  He  adds  that  he  particularly  remem- 
bers the  excitement  with  which  he  used  to  look  forward  to 
the  instalments  of  a  fascinating  series  of  articles  in 
Forget-me-not,  entitled  "The  Diary  of  a  Professional 
Beauty,"  which  told  how  a  plain  girl,  with  the  com- 
bined assistance  of  nature  and  art,  transformed  herself 
into  a  second  Helen  of  Troy.  (His  retort  to  me  is  that 
he  never  followed  out  her  programme  I) 

New  Successes. — A  great  success,  too,  was  achieved 
with  a  series  of  religious,  or  semi-religious,  journals  which 
were  intended  to  appeal  to  that  class  which  is  best 
described  as  being  made  up  of  people  who  like  "Sunday 
reading." 

The  Sunday  Companion  was  the  first  outcome  of  this 
intention,  and  it  proved  a  great  and  lasting  success.  If  I  am 
not  mistaken,  this  department  of  the  firm's  activities  was 
developed  by  Hartley  Aspden,  who  has  now  retired, 
and  seems  only  to  return  to  the  scenes  of  his  former 
labours  in  order  to  figure  as  a  wealthy  shareholder  at  the 
annual  meetings  of  the  company,  whose  fortunes  he  so 
ably  helped  to  establish.  I  have  happy  recollections  of 
winning  an    exciting   golf    foursome   with    him    on    Lord 


The  Amalgamated  Press  295 

Northcliffe's  private  course  at  Sutton  Place  which  added 
to  his  weahh  ! 

There  are  other  good  reasons  for  the  phenomenal 
success  of  the  company,  one  of  which  was  the  habit  of 
taking  infinite  pains  to  study  the  market.  It  was  very 
aptly  said  that  Lord  Northcliffe  and  his  associates  had 
an  uncanny  insight  into  the  minds  of  their  average 
readers. 

I  have  been  told  stories  of  how  he  would  carefully  go 
through  a  story  or  an  article  w  ith  one  of  his  editors  and 
substitute  the  simplest  and  plainest  words  for  long  and 
"flowery"  ones.  They  made  a  business  of  literature  in 
other  ways,  too.  Instead  of  commissioning  an  author  to 
write  a  serial  story  and  when  the  manuscript  instalments 
arrived  having  them  printed,  the  author  would  find  himself 
working  with  a  personage  known  as  a  fiction  editor,  who 
made  it  his  business  to  see  that  the  instalments  were  altered 
if  necessary  to  suit  the  tastes  of  the  readers  for  whom  they 
were  intended.  Many  of  the  Amalgamated  Press  journals 
have  been  popularised  by  striking  serial  stories.  Thousands 
of  people  were  thrilled  by  the  story  of  "Convict  99"  and 
again  by  the  "Secrets  of  a  Lunatic  Asylum,"  which  be- 
longed to  the  early  days  of  Answers.  These  stories  were 
well  advertised,  and  I  am  not  sure  it  was  not  a  cynical 
author  who  remarked  that  the  firm  would  pay  a  writer 
;{^ioo  for  a  serial  and  then  spend  ;^io,ooo  in  advertising 
it,  which  perhaps,  besides  being  as  it  should  be,  is  not  in 
the  long  run  so  bad  for  the  author. 

A  Policy  of  Development. — I  must  not  forget  to 
mention  the  London  Magazine,  the  Children's  En- 
cyclopccdia,  publications  like  the  Harmsworth  Self- 
Educator,  the  Harmsworth  Atlas,  and  the  many  publi- 
cations issued  in  fortniglitly  parts,  such  as  the  "History 
of  the  War."  In  times  of  peace  we  are  never  surprised  to 
see  new  publications  issued  by  the  Amalgamated  Press, 
and    although    the    war    has    terminated    such    enterprise 


20  The  Street  of  Ink 

temporarily,  the  company  has  many  successful  publica- 
tions to  go  on  with,  and  is  still  able  to  record  year  by 
year  a  continued  prosperity  which  pays  the  highest  possible 
tribute  to  the  management. 

The  principal  publication  is  still  Answers^  which  is 
edited  by  William  Blackwood,  formerly  of  Dundee,  whose 
ability  is  shown  in  his  work.  Home  Chat,  which  is  one  of 
the  most  successful  woman's  papers  of  its  kind,  is  edited 
by  Miss  Maud  Bown,  who  was  on  the  staff  in  1895,  and 
has  been  editress  now  for  many  years.  (This  information 
will  now  dispose  of  the  idea  that  "Your  Editress"  was 
actually  a  young  gentleman.)  Another  valued  member  of 
the  staff  is  Mrs.  Philpot,  who  edits  other  highly  success- 
ful journals,  such  as  the  Woman's  World  and  the  Family 
Journal.  She  joined  the  firm  in  1905.  i\Ir.  Middleton, 
the  editor  of  the  London  Magazine,  has  been  with  the 
firm  since  1904.  I  think,  by  the  w^ay,  that  the  manner 
in  which  the  title  of  the  Harmsworth  Magazine  was 
changed  to  the  London  was  decidedly  clever.  It  began 
with  adding  the  word  London  very  small  after  Harms- 
worth,  so  that  the  title  read  Harmsivorth's  London  Maga- 
zine. Then  month  by  month  the  Harmsworth  got 
smaller  and  smaller  and  the  London  larger  and  larger, 
until  the  London  got  large  enough  and  the  Harmsworth 
finally  vanished. 

Another  director,  Mr.  Back,  who  edits  the  boys' 
papers  issued  by  the  Amalgamated  Press,  entered  the  firm 
in  1896.  Other  prominent  members  of  the  staff  who  have 
rendered  long  and  valuable  service  in  the  conduct  of  de- 
partments are  G.  H.  Cantle,  A.  H.  Mann,  H.  G.  Garrish, 
F.  Birnage,  J.  A.  Stock,  A.  R.  Linforth,  L.  Clarke,  H.  A. 
Hinton,  and  John  McBain,  whom  I  have  known  many 
years.  W.  B.  Robertson,  who  now  has  charge  of  the 
advertisement  departments  of  manv  of  the  Amalgamated 
Press  publications,  used  to  be  responsible  for  the  activities 
of  the  Educational  Book  Company,  where  he  succeeded 


The  Amalgamated  Press  297 

George  Orange,  and  was  in  turn  followed  by  Sidney  W. 
Eynon. 

Some  Recorexs  of  Service. — The  great  printing  plant 
of  the  company  is  under  the  charge  of  two  directors,  J.  H. 
Newton,  who  has  been  on  the  staff  since  about  1892,  and 
Lieut.-Colonel  W.  F.  Mildren,  who  has  been  at  the  front 
almost  since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  has  added  to 
his  distinctions  by  receiving  promotion  twice  and  by  hav- 
ing the  honour  of  a  C.M.G.  conferred  upon  him.  J.  A. 
Hammerton,  the  editor  of  War  Illustrated  has  been  a 
member  of  the  staff  for  over  ten  years,  having  been  co- 
editor  with  Arthur  Mee  of  the  fortnightlv  publications  of 
the  firm. 

It  may  be  said,  indeed,  that  most  of  the  leading  men 
can  claim  long  service,  although,  as  Sutton  said  to 
me,  "the  directors  always  welcome  new  blood."  Among 
them  not  the  least  prominent,  although  not  mentioned  till 
now,  are  A.  E.  Linforth,  the  vice-chairman,  whose  service 
extends  over  twenty-two  years,  and  Tod  Anderson,  for 
many  years  the  secretary  of  the  company,  and  now  a 
director,  who  entered  the  firm's  employ  as  a  junior  twenty- 
one  years  ago. 

Such  is  the  brief  sketch  of  the  interesting  growth  of 
this  great  enterprise  and  of  the  men  connected  with  it, 
most  of  whom  started  their  business  careers  with  the  firm 
in  its  early  days  and  grew  with  it.  As  a  final  indication 
of  the  magnitude  of  the  Amalgamated  Press  I  need  only 
quote  Sutton's  statement  to  me  that  882  employees 
have  either  enlisted  or  received  commissions,  and  that  the 
company  has  already  paid  out  nearly  ;^30,ooo  in  allow- 
ances to  those  who  have  joined  and  the  members  of  their 
families.  George  Sutton  is  a  restless  and  indefatigable 
worker  who  has  sold  his  life  to  his  work.  I  have  often 
told  him  he  will  have  to  go  "slowly,"  but  in  the  mean- 
time he  has  got  a  "bushel  full"  more  to  show  for  his 
pains  than  a  thousand  and  one  other  workers. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

C.   ARTHUR  PEARSON,   LIMITED 

The  story  of  "Pearson's"  takes  us  back  to  1890,  when 
young  Arthur  Pearson,  having  reached  the  age  of  twenty- 
four,  decided  to  start  a  paper  on  his  own  account,  and 
threw  up  a  good  position  with  £']  a  week  attached  to  it 
in  order  to  try  his  own  fortunes. 

Like  Sir  George  Newnes,  his  old  employer,  young 
Pearson  was  greatly  interested  in  a  page  called  "Questions 
Worth  Answering,"  upon  which  feature  another  young 
man  had  founded  Ansi^ers  to  Correspondents.  The  first 
number  of  Pearson's  Weekly,  curiously  enough,  con- 
tained some  articles  which  he  had  previously  contributed 
to  the  Evening  StoMdard. 

After  a  time  a  crisis  arose  in  the  fortunes  of  Pearson's 
Weekly,  and  new  capital  was  required.  It  was  supplied 
by  Sir  William  Ingram,  who  afterwards  confessed  to  Sir 
Arthur  Pearson  that  he  did  not  believe  in  the  prospects  of 
the  paper  one  little  bit,  explaining  that  "as  John  Latey, 
Senior,  the  editor  of  the  Illustrated  London  News,  was 
about  to  retire,  I  thought  it  was  good  enough  to  put  up 
the  money  in  order  to  secure  a  lien  on  you  as  his 
successor." 

The  Staff. — Associated  with  Pearson  in  his  venture 
were  Peter  Keary  and  J.  M.  Bathgate,  besides  Ernest 
Kessell  and  Miss  Keary  (who  gave  evidence  of  journal- 
istic abilitv  and  became  editress  of  Home  Notes). 
Keary,  whom  I  knew  best,  was  managing  director  of 
the  firm  for  many  years  until  his  death.  He  wielded 
an   incisive  pen,   and  his  book,    "Get   On   or   Get   Out," 

2q8 


C.  Arthur  Pearson,  Limited        299 

reprinted,  I  believe,  from  a  paper  called  Smith's  Weekly, 
which  Pearson's  published  some  time  ago,  had  a  wide 
popularity.  Bathgate  has  always  been  most  closely 
identified  with  the  business  management,  and  Sir  George 
Riddell  paid  a  high  tribute  to  his  capacity  and  foresight  by 
relating  how  he  anticipated  the  increased  cost  of  paper  by 
making  judicious  purchases.  I  should  also  mention  P.  W. 
Everett,  who  for  many  years  has  controlled  the  editorial 
activities  of  the  firm,  and  Harry  Lipscomb,  who  has 
charge  of  the  publishing  department,  but  is  at  present 
serving  in  H.M.  forces.  Edwin  Nind  has  been  associ- 
ated with  the  firm  from  the  beginning,  and  has  alw-ays 
been  an  enthusiastic  worker.  My  friend,  H.  Wentworth 
James,  who  joined  the  firm  by  w-inning  their  ^200  a  year 
situation  prize,  served  his  literary  apprenticeship  with 
Pearson's,  and  a  very  graceful  pen  he  wields.  Corre- 
spondence with  him  is  worth  while. 

Great  enterprise  was  shown  in  popularising  Pearson's 
Weekly.  Apart  from  the  success  of  the  famous  "Missing 
Word  Competition "  and  the  usual  big  money  prizes, 
there  was  one  scheme  which  had  nothing  to  do  with 
prizes  but  yet  caused  a  sensation  owing  to  its  originality 
and  appropriateness.    Bathgate  tells  the  story  as  follows  : 

"During  the  first  great  influenza  scare,  Mr.  Pearson 
came  into  my  room  and  said,  '  Bathgate,  you  must  gei 
a  corner  in  eucalyptus  at  once.  I  see  that  a  famous 
physician  says  it  is  the  best  preventive  of  influenza,  and 
if  we  can  only  get  enough  to  soak  an  issue  of  Pearson's 
Weekly  with  it  we  shall  get  a  big  boom.'  Now  at  that 
moment  I  had  no  idea  where  eucalyptus  came  from, 
or  where  it  was  to  be  bought,  except  in  small  quantities 
from  the  chemists;  however,  I  went  to  a  friend  of  mine, 
who  was  in  the  chemical  manufacturing  line,  and  with  his 
assistance  bought  all  the  available  eucalyptus,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  a  great  many  of  the  present  readers  of  P.W. 
will   remember  the   result.     Each  copy  was  impregnated 


300  The  Street  of  Ink 

with  the  strongly  smeUing  eucalyptus.  You  could  detect 
its  presence  on  the  bookstall  from  any  part  of  a  railway 
station.  We  bought  up  every  ounce  procurable,  and 
though  it  was  very  costly,  the  advertisement  secured  was 
more  than  worth  the  large  expenditure  involved.  Scores 
of  thousands  of  people  went  about  for  weeks  with  a  copy 
of  P.W.  buttoned  into  their  waistcoat  or  dress. 

"Subsequently  we  were  deluged  with  offers  to  supply 
us  with  preventives  for  all  kinds  of  infectious  and  other 
diseases." 

Other  popular  publications  followed,  including  Pear- 
son's Magazine  and  the  Royal  Magazine,  as  well  as 
journals  appealing  to  such  diverse  interests  as  women  and 
boy  scouts.  A  book  publishing  department  was  also 
added,  which  formed  a  connecting  link  between  the  firm 
and  myself,  as  Pearson's  published  in  book  form  the  series 
of  articles  on  "Success  in  Business"  by  leading  business 
men,  w'hich  I  arranged  for  publication  in  the  Daily  Neivs 
in  order  to  form  a  guide  to  meeting  the  changed  condi- 
tions caused  by  the  war.  By  one  of  those  curious  coinci- 
dences which  one  continually  meets  in  journalism,  the  firm 
subsequently  became  associated  again  with  George 
Newnes,  Ltd.  Sir  Frank  Newnes  and  Sir  George  Rid- 
dell  are  on  the  boards  of  both  firms.  Sir  Arthur  Pearson 
is  the  chairman  of  C.  Arthur  Pearson,  Ltd.,  the  remain- 
ing directors  being  J.  M.  Bathgate,  P.  W.  Everett,  J.  C. 
Harrison,  Sir  W.  J.  Ingram,  Bart.,  H.  Ingram,  H.  F. 
Lipscomb,  and  A.  W.  Stirling.  They  have  all  done  their 
share  to  bring  about  the  present  prosperity  of  the  company. 

One  matter  that  ought  to  be  mentioned  is  that  side  of 
Pearson's  character  which  has  always  revealed  itself  in 
his  thoughts  for  others  who,  through  no  fault  of  their 
own,  were  suffering.  The  Fresh  Air  Fund  which  he 
founded  has  completed  twenty-five  years  of  splendid  work, 
and  during  the  summer  of  1916  enabled  over  120,000 
slum  children  to  go  into  the  country  "to  breathe  the  pure 


C.  Arthur  Pearson,  Limited        301 

air,  to  walk  on  real  soft  grass,  pick  flowers,  and  to  hear 
the  birds."  Sir  Arthur's  charitable  activities  during  the 
war  have  been  equally  wholehearted,  and  were  recognised 
when  the  King  conferred  a  baronetcy  upon  him.  He  was 
joint  secretary  with  Sir  Hedley  Le  Bas  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales's  Fund,  which  collected  something  like  /,'6, 000,000 
for  the  relief  of  distress,  and  his  devoted  services  to  blinded 
soldiers  are  w-ell  known.  He  has  never  lost  an  oppor- 
tunity of  turning  his  energies  and  the  facilities  he  com- 
mands to  the  advantage  of  humanity. 

The  late  Dr.  Barnardo,  with  whom  I  was  very  inti- 
mate, once  said  to  me,  as  we  were  going  over  the  great 
Home  at  Stepney:  "People's  lives  are  entirely  governed 
by  environment.  The  children  of  the  slums  grow  up  in 
surroundings  of  drink  and  vice.  Only  give  me  the 
children  and  I  will  give  you  good  citizens."  By  looking 
after  the  children,  the  poor,  and  the  disabled  soldiers 
Pearson  is  doing  noble  work  for  the  nation. 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

THE  RELIGIOUS   PRESS 

It  is  impossible  to  make  comparisons  between  tiie  various 
religious  papers,  just  as  it  is  unfortunately  not  possible  to 
do  justice  to  them  or  to  refer  in  detail  to  any  but  some 
representative  examples. 

The  religious  papers  are  in  the  main  influential,  and 
many  of  them  have  large  circulations.  Every  denomina- 
tion seems  to  be  catered  for  in  a  very  complete  way,  and 
every  journalist  will  agree  that  there  is  no  class  of  journal 
more  ably  edited,  more  diverse  in  interest,  or  appealing 
to  a  better  class  than  the  religious  Press. 

THE  "BRITISH  WEEKLY" 

A  prominent  public  man  once  expressed  the  opinion  to 
me  that  Sir  William  Robertson  Nicoll  of  the  British 
Weekly  was  probably  the  finest  leader  writer  in  Europe. 
He  is  certainly  one  of  the  best  known  publicists  in  the 
United  Kingdom,  and  exercises  an  enormous  influence, 
especially  in  Nonconformist  circles.  The  British  Weekly 
is  a  very  versatile  paper,  appealing  not  merely  to  what  one 
may  term  the  "religious"  public,  but  also  to  the  literary 
public,  which  would  regard  itself  as  ill  informed  if  it  did 
not  read  "Claudius  Clear's"  literary  article  and  "The  Man 
of  Kent's"  literary  notes.  The  former  is  a  delightful 
essay  bearing  evidence  of  Sir  Robertson  Nicoll's  amazing 
knowledge  of  literature  (he  seems  to  have  read  every  book 
worth  reading,  and  to  have  remembered  the  details  of 
each  one  of  them),  while  the  latter  is  more  in  the  nature  of 
a  commentary  on  literary  happenings,  and  often  contains 
valuable  exclusive  information. 

302 


The  Religious  Press  303 

Sir  Robertson  Nicoll  told  me  that  when  he  started  the 
British  Weekly  thirty  years  ago  with  Messrs.  Hodder  & 
Stoughton,  the  arrangement  was  that  they  should  provide 
the  capital,  and  that  he  should  do  all  his  work  for  nothing 
until  the  paper  paid.  "We  had  a  hard  struggle,"  he  said, 
"but  after  three  years  or  so  the  corner  wiis  turned.  I  had 
no  one  associated  with  me  at  the  outset,  except  a  shorthand 
writer,  who  was  also  news  editor.  Later  Miss  Jane  T. 
Stoddart  became  my  assistant  editor,  and  has  held  that 
position  with  great  efficiency  for  many  years.  I  also  added 
to  my  staff  as  the  circulation  increased,  but  I  have  always 
depended  a  good  deal  on  outside  articles." 

Substantially,  the  British  Weekly  has  altered  very 
little  as  regards  its  leading  features  since  its  early  days, 
although  the  editor  says  the  only  matter  in  which  he 
has  decisively  changed  his  mind  is  that  of  serial  fiction. 
At  first  he  did  not  regard  it  as  of  much  importance,  but 
he  now  attaches  a  great  deal  to  it.  Many  popular  authors 
have  written  the  British  Weekly's  serials,  including  David 
Lyall,  John  Oxenham,  Annie  S.  Swan,  Joseph  Hocking, 
Katharine  Tynan,  and  not  a  few  others.  Sir  Robertson 
Nicoll  thinks  that  the  most  notable  events  in  the  history 
of  the  paper  were  probably  the  advent  of  certain  con- 
tributors. The  British  Weekly  was  the  first  paper  in 
which  Sir  J.  M.  Barrie  signed  his  articles.  It  was  through 
its  columns  that  Ian  Maclaren  achieved  his  immense 
popularity.  R.  L.  Stevenson  contributed  one  notable 
article,  "Books  Which  Have  Influenced  Me,"  and  Ruskin 
wrote  on  the  same  subject.  Sir  Robertson  Nicoll  says  that 
one  of  his  very  best  helpers  from  the  first  was  Principal 
Marcus  Dods,  of  Edinburgh,  who  to  the  end  of  his  life 
continued  to  be  a  valuable  contributor.  These  few  in- 
stances show  the  quality  of  the  contributors  and  contribu- 
tions, and  one  could  extend  the  list  vqry  largely. 

The  success  of  the  British  Weekly  seems  to  be  due  to 
the  fact  that  it  has  been  an  "independent  "  and  live  paper. 


304  The  Street  of  Ink 

It  led  to  the  starting  of  the  Bookman,  which  is  edited  with 
distinction  by  Sir  Robertson  Nicoll  and  A.  St.  John 
Adcock.  These  journals,  however,  by  no  means  exhaust 
Sir  Robertson  Nicoll 's  activities.  He  has  written,  com- 
piled and  edited  many  books,  ranging  from  "The 
Expositor's  Greek  Testament,"  to  an  edition  of  the  works 
of  Charlotte  Bronte,  and  from  "Literary  Anecdotes  of 
the  Nineteenth  Century"  to  numerous  theological  works. 
It  is  hardly  surprising  that  so  versatile  a  mind  should 
produce  a  paper  that  appeals  strongly  to  more  than  one 
section  of  the  reading  public.  I  take  the  British  Weekly 
regularly,  and  always  feel  wiser  after  reading  it. 

THE   "CHRISTIAN" 

"The  wickedest  little  demon  in  Abergavenny!"  was 
the  description  once  applied  to  Richard  Cope  Morgan  by 
a  nurse  girl,  who  little  thought  that  the  boy  she  pointed 
out  to  her  charges  was  to  exercise  a  profound  influence 
exactly  the  reverse  of  that  against  which  she  w^arned  them. 
jNIr.  Morgan  came  to  London  from  Bath  in  1855  to 
become  a  publisher's  assistant,  and  four  years  later  set 
up  as  a  publisher  and  printer  on  his  own  account,  in 
partnership  with  his  friend,  Mr.  Samuel  Chase.  In  1859 
they  started  the  Revival,  the  title  of  which  was  changed  to 
the  Christian  in  1870.  The  first  numbers  did  not  have  a 
large  circulation,  but  during  the  Barnet  Conference  the 
same  year  it  rose  in  a  single  week  from  8,000  to  80,000 
copies. 

Its  founder,  Mr.  R.  Cope  Morgan,  occupied  the 
editorial  chair  until  his  death  in  1908,  but  for  some 
twenty  years  before  this  a  large  share  of  the  burden 
of  control  had  fallen  upon  his  son,  Mr.  G.  E.  Morgan, 
M.A.,  who  assumed  the  editorship  when  his  father 
died. 

Robert  Scott,  a  Glasgow  merchant,  joined  the  partner- 
ship in  1869,  and  the  firm  was  styled  Morgan,  Chase  and 


The  Religious  Press  3^5 

Scott,    until    after    iMr.    Chase's   death,    when    it   became 
Morgan  and  Scott. 

Mr.  G.  E.  Morgan,  when  talking  to  me  about  the 
Christian,  said  that  at  the  outbreak  of  war,  in  view  of  his 
increasing  responsibilities,  he  found  the  editorship  in 
chief  rather  too  much  for  him,  and  was  fortunate  in  secur- 
ing the  Rev.  J.  Stuart  Holden,  M.A.,  D.D.,  vicar  of  St. 
Paul's,  Portman  Square,  to  undertake  the  work,  he  him- 
self retaining  the  position  of  "consultant."  The  arrange- 
ment has  proved  a  very  happy  one.  In  Mr.  Morgan's 
words  to  me  :  "The  new  editor  has  succeeded  in  lifting  the 
paper  out  of  what  might  have  become  a  traditional  rut 
into  one  of  the  most  forceful  religious  weeklies  of  the 
day."  Dr.  Holden  is  a  well-known  speaker,  and  has  a 
wide  reputation  not  only  in  the  British  Isles  but  also  in 
America  as  a  teacher  of  no  small  power. 

It  was  through  the  pages  of  the  Christ ian  that  Moody 
and  Sankey  were  introduced  to  the  public,  and  the  paper 
published  special  accounts  of  the  work  of  these  evangelists 
in  the  British  Isles.  Many  of  these  reports  came  from  the 
brilliant  pen  of  the  late  George  Rettie,  who  sub-edited  the 
paper  for  nearly  twenty  years.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
from  the  journalistic  point  of  view  the  feature  was  highly 
successful.  Mr.  Morgan  also  told  me  that  when  Dr. 
Barnardo,  as  a  young  student  at  the  London  Hospital,  was 
first  prompted  to  relieve  the  sad  condition  of  the  London 
waif,  Mr.  R.  C.  Morgan  was  one  of  the  first  whose  advice 
he  sought,  and  it  was  in  the  Christian  that  his  first  appeal 
to  the  public  for  financial  support  was  made.  Dr.  Barnardo 
used  to  say  that  when  he  visited  the  various  towns  on 
behalf  of  his  Homes,  the  first  thing  he  looked  for  on 
entering  a  strange  house  was  a  copy  of  the  Christian,  and 
if  it  was  in  evidence  he  knew  he  was  in  congenial  society. 

Associated  with  Dr.  Holden  is  Dr.  J.  W.  Thirtle,  who 
has  been  on  the  staff  for  over  twenty  years,  and  is  well 
known  both  in  Great  Britain  and  in  America  through  his 

V 


3o6  The  Street  of  Ink 

books.  He  is  a  scholar  of  repute  and  an  expert  on  Biblical 
study  and  research.  Another  of  G.  E.  Morgan's  colleagues 
is  Thomas  G.  Howe,  the  general  manager,  whom  I  have 
known  and  respected  for  many  years.  P.  W.  Wilson,  the 
Parliamentary  writer  of  the  Daily  News,  figures  among  the 
paper's  most  valued  contributors.  The  Christian  is  a 
courageous  and  influential  journal,  and  deserves  the  place 
it  has  made  for  itself  as  an  exponent  of  Evangelical  teach- 
ing. Messrs.  Morgan  and  Scott,  Limited,  are  also  suc- 
cessful publishers,  Mr.  Morgan  being  chairman  of  the 
company,  with  Major  S.  Cope  Morgan  (grandson  of  the 
founder),  Dr.  F.  B.  Meyer,  Mr.  G.  Wilson  Heath,  and 
Mr.  D.  J.  Findlay,  J. P.  (of  Glasgow),  as  directors.  In 
thif6  connection  it  is  interesting  to  hear  of  the  recent  retire- 
ment of  Mr.  John  Pearce  after  no  less  than  fifty-two  years 
of  service  with  the  firm — a  man  of  singular  fidelity  and 
winsomeness.  Yet  even  now  he  is  not  retiring  to  idleness, 
but  to  take  a  share  in  the  mission  work  at  vSwansea 
founded  by  his  late  brother-in-law,  the  Rev.  Oscar 
Snelling,  whose  period  of  service  there  was,  curiously 
enough,  also  fifty-two  years  before  his  decease  in  1916. 

THE  "CHRISTIAN   WORLD" 

Many  interesting  names  are  linked  up  with  the 
Christiaii  World,  which  first  appeared  on  April  9,  1857, 
as  "The  Christian  World  and  General  Intelligencer  Con- 
taining the  News  of  the  Week."  The  idea  of  the  paper 
originated  in  the  mind  of  the  Rev.  John  Whittemore, 
minister  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  the  village  of  Eynsford, 
Kent.  The  paper  was  not  an  immediate  success;  indeed, 
the  future  looked  very  unpromising  when  Mr.  Whittemore 
engaged  the  services  of  Mr.  James  Clarke  to  save  the 
situation.  The  latter  introduced  changes  in  the  make-up 
and  new  features  which  speedily  became  popular,  and 
within  a  comparatively  short  time  the  property  was  put 
upon  a  solid  basis.     The  subsequent  history  of  the  paper 


The  Religious  Press  307 

is  a  record  of  unbroken  success.  Many  well-known 
names  are  included  in  the  list  of  contributors,  and  Mr. 
Clarke  introduced  serial  stories  as  a  feature,  which  he 
thought  desirable  and  necessary.  Emma  Jane  Worboise 
provided  these  for  something  like  thirty  years,  and  since 
her  time  the  most  popular  novelists  of  the  day  have  written 
for  tiie  paper.  Dean  Farrar,  Dr.  Clifford,  and  Dr. 
Macnamara,  M.P.,  are  among  the  names  of  its  contri- 
butors; and  another  to  be  mentioned  is  Spencer  Leigh 
Hughes,  M.P.,  who  has  for  a  long  time  been  the  "Gallery 
Hand"  of  the  Christian  World.  The  Rev.  C.  H. 
Spurgeon's  sermons  achieved  a  wide  popularity  in  its 
columns.  The  present  editor  is  Mr.  Herbert  Clarke,  to 
whom  no  higher  compliment  can  be  paid  than  to  say  that 
he  admirably  sustains  the  reputation  of  the  family  name. 

THE  "CHURCH   FAMILY    NEWSPAPER" 

I  have  a  deep,  personal  interest  in  the  Church  Family 
Newspaper,  because  proprietors  and  editor  are  all  very 
good  friends  of  mine,  and  the  managing  director  is 
my  brother,  Frederick  Simonis,  who,  at  the  time  of 
writing,  is  serving  with  H.M.  forces  and  holds  a  com- 
mission in  the  5th  East  Surrey  Regiment.  I  sometimes 
say  that  the  best  proof  I  can  give  of  what  I  think  of  News- 
paper land  as  a  career  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  I 
asked  Mr.  Parke  to  give  my  brother  a  position  on  his  staff." 
This  wish  was  gratified  and  the  "youngster"  duly  joined 
the  Star,  on  which  paper  he  spent  several  very  happy 
years,  until  he  was  invited  to  go  to  the  Church  Family 
Newspaper,  of  which  journal,  whilst  still  in  the  twenties, 
he  was  appointed  managing  director.  No  one  could 
possibly  have  found  his  work  more  pleasurable  or  could 
receive  kinder  treatment  from  his  colleagues  than  he. 
His  relations  with  Mr.  Stuart  Paton  and  Mr.  Upward,  the 
editor,  have  been  marked  by  a  characteristic  cordiality 
which  he  reciprocates  with  affection.     I  am  happy  to  re- 


3o8  The  Street  of  Ink 

cord  that  the  Church  Family  Newspaper  has  had  an 
immense  increase  of  prosperity  during  the  time  he  has 
been  with  it. 

The  paper  was  founded  in  February,  1894.  The  late 
Archbishop  Benson,  although  not  directly  connected  with 
its  production,  was  keenly  interested  in  it,  and  on 
more  than  one  occasion  favoured  the  promoters  with  his 
advice  and  guidance.  It  has  a  wide  appeal,  and  is  a 
unique  combination  of  a  journal  for  the  clerical  study,  the 
thoughtful  layman,  and  the  family  generally.  It  is  non- 
party. When  I  asked  Mr.  Upward  to  indicate  its  policy 
he  summed  it  up,  I  thought,  very  happily  by  mentioning 
these  points  and  capping  them  with  the  words,  "Freedom 
from  Bitterness."  The  personal  element  is  very  promi- 
nent, and  many  of  the  leading  Church  dignitaries  and 
prominent  laymen  are  regular  contributors.  As  is  well 
known.  Dr.  A.  C.  Benson,  the  son  of  the  Archbishop, 
contributes  a  weekly  article  which  is  widely  read,  and  to 
the  outside  public,  at  any  rate,  is  one  of  the  most  popular 
features  in  the  religious  papers. 

Mr.  Stuart  Paton  is  a  well-read,  interesting  man,  and 
a  very  good  sportsman.  A  first-class  golfer,  he  has  played 
in  the  championship.  Mr.  Upward  possesses  vision, 
judgment,  and  sympathy,  and  I  am  sanguine  that  under 
his  able  editorship  the  Church  Family  Newspaper  has  by 
no  means  reached  the  zenith  of  its  popularity. 

THE  "CHURCH  TIMES" 

In  journalism  the  reputation  of  a  man  or  of  a  paper 
can  be  made  by  an  article,  just  as  it  can  be  ruined  by 
a  phrase.  The  Church  Times  is  an  example  of  the 
former,  because  its  first  success  was  due  to  a  leading 
article  written  by  Mr.  J.  E.  Vaux,  then  curate  of  St.  Mary 
Magdalene's,  Munster  Square.  There  had  been  three 
numbers  which  had  not  been  highly  successful,  and  the 
proprietors  were  seriously  considering  the  advisability  of 


The  Religious  Press  3^9 

cutting  their  losses  when  the  article  in  question  appeared 
in  the  fourth  issue.  The  story  goes  that  the  church- 
wardens of  St.  j\Iartin's-in-the-Fields  erected  in  the  church- 
yard a  stand  for  viewing  the  arrival  of  Princess  Alexandra, 
and  issued  an  advertisement  announcing  that  the  church 
would  be  used  as  a  waiting-room  and  that  the  organist 
would  perform  "a  series  of  pieces  adapted  to  the  occasion." 
Mr.  Vaux  wTote  a  stinging  leader  addressing  the  incum- 
bent, the  Rev.  W.  G.  Humphry,  and  those  concerned, 
which  was  headed,  "Dining  with  Duke  Humphrey,"  and 
began  with  the  quotation,  "How  now,  ambitious  Hum- 
phrey, what  means  this?"  The  article  contained  biting 
reflections  on  "pieces  adapted  to  the  occasion,"  and  added 
the  advice  that  a  refreshment  department  might  be  added. 
It  attracted  the  attention  of  the  public,  and  as  a  result 
the  reputation  of  the  Church  Times  was  made.  The  record 
of  the  first  subscription  appears  some  three  months  later, 
the  subscriber  being  no  less  a  person  than  Mr.  Disraeli. 
The  Church  Times,  how-ever,  points  out  that  the  eminent 
statesman  was  not  exactly  a  subscriber,  as  there  is  no 
evidence  to  prove  that  he  paid  for  the  copies  w'hich  he 
permitted  the  proprietors  to  send  to  him,  but  naturally 
assumed  that  they  were  well  repaid  by  his  patronage. 

The  paper  has  now  performed  some  fifty  years'  work. 
It  has  gained  a  wide  popularity  and  exercises  a  powerful 
influence.  Its  fearlessness  and  independence  are  main- 
tained by  the  editor.  Dr.  E.  Hermitage  Day,  and  it 
enjoys  the  respect  even  of  those  who  differ  from  its 
policy. 

THE  "FRIEND" 

A  journal  appealing  to  a  class  which  is  remarkable 
for  its  religious  activity  and  high  ideals,  and  which, 
although  limited  in  numbers,  exercises  an  extraordinary 
influence,  is  the  Friend,  which  may  be  regarded  as 
the  organ  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  It  was  started  in 
1843  as  a  monthly  magazine,  the  price  of  which  was  six- 


v> 


10  The  Street  of  Ink 


pence.     The  first  editor  was  a  young  man  named  Charles 
Tylor,  who  at  that  time  was  between  twenty-five  and  twenty- 
six  years  of  age,  and  the  paper  was  published  by  Charles 
Gilpin,  who  was  M.P.  for  Northampton  from  1857  to  1868, 
and  became  Secretary  of  the  Poor  Law  Board  under  Lord 
Palmerston  in  1859.     Edward  Newman,  who  became  editor 
in   1852,  was  the  author  of  the  well-known  "History  of 
British   Ferns,"     The  editors  best  known  to  the  general 
public  were  Joshua  Rowntree,  M.P.  for  Scarborough  from 
1886  to   1892,  who  filled  the  editorial  chair  from   1871  to 
1875,  and  his  successor,  John  S.  Rowntree,  the  father  of 
Arnold    S.    Rowntree,    M.P.       John    S.    Rowntree    was 
succeeded   by   Joseph    S.    Sewell,    who   was   editor   for  a 
longer  period  than  any  of  his  predecessors.     He  retired 
in    1891    after  thirteen   years'   service,   and   is  notable  as 
being    the    first    English    Friend   to   go   to    Madagascar 
as  a  missionary.     At  the  beginning  of  January,  1892,  the 
Friend  became  a  weekly  organ  at  the  price  of  one  penny 
instead  of  a  sixpenny  monthly,  with  Henry  Stanley  New- 
man, of  Leominster,  as  editor  (a  position  he  retained  until 
his   death   in    1912),   assisted   throughout   the   period   by 
Edward  Bassett  Reynolds,  who  is  still  a  member  of  the 
staff.    Mr.  Newman  was  a  pioneer  of  the  Friends'  Foreign 
Mission   Association,    founded   in    1866.      He  became  its 
honorary  secretary,  a  position  which  he  continued  to  hold 
until  his  death.    It  was  largely  through  his  instrumentality 
also  that  the    Friends'    Industrial    Mission,    Pemba,    was 
founded  in    1897.     Since   his  decease  there  has  been   no 
announcement  as  to  the  editorship  of  the  Friend.      The 
paper,  however,  has  adapted  itself  with  enterprise  to  pre- 
vailing conditions.      A  feature  during  the  war  has  been 
a   weekly    record    of    "Peace    Service    Among    Friends," 
notably  that  of  the   Friends'   Ambulance   Unit,   and  the 
Friends'  War  Relief  Committee,  both  of  which  are  doing 
work  of  extreme  value.     As  a  link  between  the  homeland 
and  members  residing  all  over  the   world,    it    is    highly 


The  Religious  Press  3ii 

valued,    and    pays    special    attention   to   the    activities   of 
Friends  in  America. 

THE  "GUARDIAN" 

Among  the  papers  of  which  one  can  say  that  they 
have  a  strong  personality,  the  Guardian  would,  beyond 
question,  occupy  a  prominent  position.  It  was  founded 
in  1846  at  a  period  which  Dean  Church  described  twenty- 
five  years  later  as  "a  moment  of  deep  disappointment, 
deep  depression,  deep  anxiety,"  and  became  the  rallying- 
point  when  the  Church  was  threatened  with  disruption. 
It  seemed  incredible  at  that  time  that  the  Tractarian  party 
should  ever  play  a  leading  part  in  guiding  the  fortunes  of 
the  English  Church,  yet  in  1899  the  late  W.  E.  H.  Lecky, 
the  historian,  wrote  of  the  Guardian  that  it  "reflected  the 
best  intellectual  influences  of  its  time,"  and  was,  in  fact,  a 
favourite  paper  of  many  who  cared  only  for  its  secular 
aspects.  The  Guardian,  of  course,  is  regarded  primarily 
as  the  representative  of  the  High  Church  party,  but  it  seeks 
rather  to  represent  the  Church  of  England  as  a  whole.  It 
is,  indeed,  the  reverse  of  bigoted,  as  its  many  distinguished 
contributors  have  included  Nonconformists  as  well  as 
Churchmen. 

At  the  beginning  there  seems  to  have  been  no  definite 
editor,  the  founders — who  included  Dean  Church,  Lord 
Blachford,  Professor  Bernard,  and  Dr.  J.  B.  Mozley — 
managing  the  paper  among  them.  The  first  person  de- 
finitely appointed  to  the  editorial  chair  was  Mr.  Martin 
Sharp,  and  to  him  the  great  financial  success  of  the 
Guardian  was  mainly  due.  He  was  succeeded  by  Mr. 
D.  C.  Lathbury,  who  was  editor  for  seventeen  years,  and 
maintained  the  journal's  prestige  in  every  way.  Canon 
Hobhouse  was  editor  for  five  years.  The  present  editor, 
J.  Penderel-Brodhurst,  has  occupied  his  important  posi- 
tion for  twelve  years.  He  was  formerly  assistant  editor 
of    the    St.    James'<;    Gazette,    editor   of    the    St.  James's 


312  The  Street  of  Ink 

Budget,  and  for  nine  years  leader  writer  on  the  Standard. 
He  had  been  assistant  editor  of  the  Guardian  for  two  years 
before  he  assumed  control. 

Mr.  Penderel-Brodhurst  informed  me  that  Mr.  Gladstone 
was  an  occasional  writer  of  letters  to  the  editor  of  the 
Guardian  over  the  signature  "G."  Amongst  its  con- 
tributors have  been  Sir  Stafford  Northcote  (afterwards 
Lord  Iddesleigh),  Cardinal  Mannmg,  G.  E.  Buckle,  the 
late  editor  of  The  Times,  and  E.  A.  Freeman,  the 
historian.  Most  of  the  distinguished  theologians  (in- 
cluding the  present  Archbishop  of  York  and  the  Bishop 
of  Oxford),  and  Church  historians  of  recent  times  have 
written  for  it,  not  to  mention  musical  authorities  like 
Sir  Joseph  Barnby,  Sir  John  Stainer,  and  Sir  H.  Bishop. 

The  assistant  editor  is  Douglas  Brooke,  whose  con- 
nection with  the  paper  has  lasted  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  Another  prominent  member  of  the  editorial  staff 
is  H.  P.  K.  Shipton,  the  biographer  of  Hoppner  and 
Nicholas  Ferrar.  The  ecclesiastical  sub-editor  is  George 
Tarran,  who  has  occupied  the  post  for  nearly  thirty 
years.  J.  G.  Sparkhall,  of  the  commercial  department,  is 
well  known  in  Fleet  Street.  He  was  previously  with  the 
Daily  News,  and  when  the  Tribune  was  started  he  was 
invited  to  take  charge  of  the  advertisement  department  of 
that  paper,  leaving  the  Guardian  to  do  so.  When  the 
Tribune  was  discontinued  the  proprietors  of  the  Guardian 
invited  Mr.  Sparkhall  to  take  up  his  old  position. 

THE  "METHODIST  RECORDER" 

The  Methodist  Recorder  was  started  in  1861  by  a 
number  of  the  younger  "advanced"  A-Iethodists.  Among 
the  first  directors  w^ere  the  Rev.  George  T.  Perks,  the 
father  of  Sir  Robert  Perks;  Samuel  T.  Waddy,  who  be- 
came Judge  Waddy ;  William  McArthur,  afterwards  Lord 
Mayor  of  London ;  and  John  Chubb,  Sir  George  Chubb's 
father.    In  the  early  days  the  editorial  work  was  conducted 


The  Religious  Press  S^S 

by  a  council,  and  then  for  a  year  Dr.  Davison,  now 
Principal  of  Richmond  College,  discharged  the  duties. 
His  successor  in  the  editorial  chair  was  the  Rev.  N.  Cur- 
nock,  under  whose  control  the  paper  was  illustrated  and 
popularised.  He  retired  owing  to  ill-health  in  1906  after 
being  editor  for  twenty  years.  The  editorial  council  has 
since  been  revived  with  marked  success.  The  directors 
to-day  include  the  Revs.  Dr.  Tasker,  president  of  the  Con- 
ference this  year;  Dr.  Davison,  Frederic  W.  ]\Iacdonald, 
jMarshall  Hartley,  foreign  missionary  secretary;  F.  L. 
Wiseman,  home  mission  secretary;  J.  Telford,  connexional 
editor;  Sir  Clarence  Smith,  chairman  of  Messrs.  Cassell 
and  Co. ;  Sir  George  Smith,  Sir  George  Hayter  Chubb, 
and  other  laymen.  Probably  the  best-known  contributor  is 
the  Rev.  Arthur  Hoyle,  but  practically  every  writer  in  the 
Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  might  be  mentioned  in  such 
a  connection.  A  prominent  member  of  the  staff  is  W.  T. 
Cranfield  ("Denis  Crane"),  whose  speciality  is  interview- 
ing. The  Methodist  Recorder  is  in  an  extremely  healthy 
financial  condition,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that 
its  investments  exceed  the  authorised  capital  of  the  com- 
pany. Its  present  day  success  is  a  tribute  to  the  work  of 
ihe  manager,  Mr.  J.  B.  Watson. 

THE    "METHODIST  TIMES" 

Another  popular  paper  is  the  Methodist  Times,  of  which 
the  Rev.  Hugh  Price  Hughes  was  editor  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death. 

THE  RELIGIOUS   TRACT  SOCIETY 

I  must  also  refer  to  another  well-known  institution,  the 
Religious  Tract  Society,  the  fame  of  which  in  the  Street 
of  Ink  is,  of  course,  due  to  the  Woman's  Magazine  and 
the  Boy's  Own  Paper.  I  was  told  rather  a  striking  story 
about  the  B.O.P.,  which  shows  how  a  successful  venture 
was  nearly  killed  at  its  birth. 

Thf  idea  of  a  boy's  paper,  I  was  informed,  was  sub- 


314  The  Street  of  Ink 

mitted  to  the  committee  of  the  Religious  Tract  Society, 
but  the  specimen  number  was  turned  down.  Dr.  Macaulay, 
the  well-known  editor  of  the  Leisure  Hour,  however,  along 
with  that  far-famed  writer  for  boys,  W.  H.  G.  Kingston, 
and  one  or  two  others  who  were  very  keen  on  the  idea, 
made  out  another  sample  first  number,  and  again  brought 
the  matter  before  the  R.T.S.  committee.  It  was  then  dis- 
cussed very  thoroughly,  and  finally  the  proposal  that  the 
R.T.S.  should  start  the  paper  was  carried.  Its  editorship 
was  entrusted  to  G.  A.  Hutchison,  who  conducted  the 
B.O.P.  for  more  than  thirty  years.  Under  his  con- 
duct the  paper  quickly  reached  the  circulation  of  160,000 
weekly,  with  an  extra  80,000  in  monthly  parts.  Many 
of  the  readers  of  this  book  w'ill  remember  how^  many 
pleasant  and  happy  hours  they  owe  to  the  Religious 
Tract  Society  through  the  perusal  of  the  Boy's  Own 
Paper.  It  is  now  splendidly  edited  by  A.  L.  Haydon 
(another  offshoot  from  La  Belle  Sauvage  Yard),  who  is 
well  known  at  the  Press  Club,  and  has  proved  a  worthy 
successor  of  Mr.   Hutchison. 

The  success  of  the  B.O.P.  induced  the  R.T.S.  com- 
mittee to  start  the  Girl's  Own  Paper  within  a  year  of  the 
launching  of  that  for  boys.  Charles  Peters  (also  from 
Cassell's)  was  the  first  editor  of  the  G.O.P.,  and  he  made 
it  even  more  successful  than  the  B.O.P.  from  the  circula- 
tion point  of  view.  At  Peters's  decease  the  editorship  was 
handed  over  to  Miss  Flora  Klickmann,  of  the  Windsor 
Magazine  editorial  stafif,  who  sagaciously  incorporated  the 
Woman's  Magazine,  and  under  the  combined  title  this 
monthly  publication  has  a  capital  circulation,  for  it  is  a 
"live"  magazine  for  girls  and  their  mothers. 

The  R.T.S.  also  issue  monthly  the  Sunday  at  Home, 
edited  by  Mr.  W.  Grinton  Berry,  M.A.,  who  began  his 
career  with  Sir  William  Robertson  Nicoll  on  the  British 
Weekly.  This  deservedly  popular  magazine  has  been 
published  continuously  since  1854.    The  R.T.S.  is  one  of 


The  Religious  Press  3i5 

the  busiest  houses  and  most  up  to  date  in  the  Street  of  Ink. 
It  has  an  immense  Hst  of  books,  by  popular,  high-class 
authors,  and  published  by  James  Bowden.  What  he  does 
not  know  about  publishing  is  not  worth  knowing.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Ward,  Lock  and  Bowden,  was 
afterwards  in  business  under  his  own  name  in  Heri- 
etta  Street,  and  for  the  past  eighteen  years  has  brought  all 
his  experience  to  bear  upon  the  book  and  magazine  pro- 
duction of  the  R.T.S.  as  its  lay  secretary  and  general 
manager. 

From  my  point  of  view  no  reference  to  the  R.T.S. 
would  be  complete  without  mention  of  Mr.  E.  Henderson 
Smith,  whom  I  have  known  for  very  many  years,  and  who 
told  me  that  the  story  about  the  starting  of  the  Boy's  Oivn 
Paper  was  not  only  true,  but  that  the  sample  first  number, 
which  induced  the  committee  to  start  its  publication,  was 
made  up  in  his  presence  and  in  his  own  room  at  the 
former  home  of  the  R.T.S.,  56  Paternoster  Row.  Mr. 
Henderson  Smith  has  been  connected  with  the  Society  for 
fifty- five  years. 

THE  "SUNDAY   SCHOOL  CHRONICLE" 

The  Sunday  School  Chronicle  is  the  organ  of  the 
Sunday  School  Union,  and  was  started  in  1874  to  supple- 
ment with  news  a  monthly  magazine  which  had  long 
been  supplied  to  Sunday  school  teachers.  It  was  also  in- 
tended to  promote  greater  efficiency  in  teaching,  as  it  was 
found  that  the  Education  Act  of  1870  had  given  a  great 
stimulus  to  Sunday  school  work.  The  first  editor  was 
Benjamin  Clarke,  who  was  a  Civil  Servant,  and  the 
modest  outlook  of  the  promoters  is  indicated  by  the  salary 
of  fifty  guineas  per  annum  which  attached  to  the  post, 
although  it  should  be  mentioned  that  this  was  increased 
the  following  year  to  one  hundred  pounds.  There  was,  of 
course,  a  good  opening  for  the  periodical,  the  appeal  of 
which   was   immediately  appreciated,   and   it   steadily   in- 


3i6  The  Street  of  Ink 

creased  in  popularity,  although  it  was  not  until  1893  when 
the  Sunday  School  Union  opened  its  business  premises 
in  Ludgate  Hill  that  the  paper  began  to  attract  general 
attention.  This  change  is  attributed  to  the  appointment 
of  Andrew  Melrose,  the  well-known  publisher,  as  the 
Union's  publisher  and  business  manager,  and  to  the  late 
F.  W.  Warmington,  L.C.C.,  w-ho  co-operated  with  him. 
When  Benjamin  Clarke  died  he  was  succeeded  by  the 
late  Rev.  H.  S.  B.  Yates,  who  was  a  remarkable 
character,  having  begun  life  as  a  boy  operative  in  a  York- 
shire mill,  after  which  he  became  successively  pupil 
teacher,  certified  master,  theological  student,  and  finally  a 
popular  Wesleyan  minister.  As  may  be  imagined,  he  was 
a  man  of  great  energy,  and  this  with  his  natural  literary 
talent  led  him  to  reconstruct  the  paper  and  enlarge  its 
features. 

I  gather  that  at  first  the  changes  were  not  liked,  and 
the  circulation  dropped ;  but  after  a  few  months  it  restarted 
on  the  upgrade,  and  continued  to  progress  uninterruptedly 
until  the  beginning  of  the  Great  War.  Mr.  Yates's  un- 
timely death  occurred  after  he  had  held  the  office  of  editor 
for  less  than  two  years,  when  Mr.  Melrose  took  up  the 
editorship  until  the  Rev.  Alexander  Smellie,  D.D.,  was 
appointed.  Dr.  Smellie,  however,  never  settled  down  to 
editorial  work,  as  his  heart  was  in  the  ministry,  and  after 
a  year  in  London  he  went  back  to  Scotland  to  occupy  the 
most  important  pulpit  in  his  denomination. 

After  another  interregnum  of  two  years,  during 
which  Mr.  Melrose  again  edited  the  paper,  the  present 
editor,  the  Rev.  Frank  Johnson,  was  appointed  in 
June,  1899.  Mr.  Johnson  was  a  Congregational  minister 
who  had  written  an  article  which  attracted  Mr.  Mel- 
rose's attention  owing  to  its  originality  and  intellectual 
power,  and  his  selection  has  been  justified  by  the  steady 
growth  in  circulation  and  influence  of  the  Sunday 
School  Chronicle  under  his  charge. 


The  Religious  Press  3i7 

Many  eminent  men  have  contributed  to  the  paper,  in- 
cluding Prof.  Sayce,  Dr.  Denney,  Dr.  Parker,  Sir  George 
Adam  Smith,  Prof.  J.  Arthur  Thomson,  the  Rev.  Hugh 
Black,  Dr.  Jowett,  and  Dr.  J.  R.  Miller;  while  its  literary 
features  have  included  stories  and  contributions  by  writers 
like  Amelia  E.  Barr,  E.  Everett  Green,  Adeline  Sergeant, 
George  Douglas  Brown,  and  other  novelists.  The  sub- 
editor is  J.  T.  Rose,  who  has  grown  from  boyhood  in  the 
office,  and  to  whose  faithfulness  and  skill  the  paper  owes 
much.  A  vivid  light  is  thrown  upon  its  comprehensive- 
ness by  one  of  its  features — a  New  Testament  Greek 
Correspondence  Class,  which  has  had  a  membership  in 
a  single  session  running  into  four  figures,  the  largest 
correspondence  class  in  New  Testament  Greek  in  the  world. 
Mr.  Johnson  says  that  while  the  readers  grow  more 
responsive,  it  may  be  added  that  they  also  grow  more 
critical,  but  there  is  every  indication  that  they  are  satisfied 
with  the  support  accorded  by  the  Sunday  School  Chronicle 
to  every  forward  movement  affecting  their  interests  during 
the  last  forty-two  years. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  AMERICAN  AND  FRENCH  PRESS 

No  record  of  progress  in  the  Street  of  Ink,  however 
modest,  could  neglect  the  influence  of  other  countries,  and 
it  will  not  be  out  of  place  at  this  juncture  to  note  the 
tendencies  of  journalism  in  the  two  countries  best  known 
to  English  newspaper  men — the  United  States  and  France. 
When  I  am  told  that  we  in  Great  Britain  owe  a  debt  to 
America,  I  am  reminded  of  the  celebrated  American  story 
of  the  educated  moose.  The  owner,  who  was  showing  it  at 
a  country  fair,  was  enticing  the  spectators  into  his  tent  by 
a  vivid  description  of  the  animal's  talents.  He  explained 
that  it  was  the  best  educated  moose  in  the  world,  and  was 
probably  the  most  wonderful  dumb  animal  in  existence,  as 
it  could  read  and  write  and  do  sums  in  arithmetic,  and  so 
forth.  When  he  had  finished,  a  farmer  came  up,  followed 
by  a  string  of  children,  and  inquired  the  price  of  ad- 
mittance. The  owner  of  the  educated  moose  asked  if 
they  were  all  his  children,  and  being  answered  in  the 
affirmative,  regarded  him  with  admiration,  saying:  "You 
shall  all  come  in  for  nothing,  as  I  think  it  is  just  as  im- 
portant for  my  moose  to  see  your  family  as  it  is  for  your 
family  to  see  my  moose."  That  is  another  way  of  saying 
that  in  my  opinion  the  American  Press  and  the  British 
Press  are  equally  indebted  to  each  other. 

The  "New  York  Herald." — The  picturesque  per- 
sonality of  James  Gordon  Bennett,  the  proprietor  of  the 
Herald,  is  well  known  in  England,  chiefly,  I  suppose, 
because  he  makes  Paris  his  headquarters,  and  also  because 
in  association  with  the  Daily  Telegraph  he  sent  Stanley 

^i8 


American  and  French  Press       3^9 

to  Central  Africa.  There  is  something  romantic  in  the 
spectacle  of  this  man  actively  conducting  his  newspaper 
business  at  a  distance  of  thousands  of  miles,  from  Paris 
or  from  his  yacht.  It  is  said  that  his  office  in  New  York 
is  always  kept  in  instant  readiness  for  his  use,  so  that  if 
he  comes  there  unexpectedly  he  can  step  into  it  as  if  he 
had  left  it  only  the  night  before.  The  detached  view- 
point, which  is  the  result  of  absence  from  details,  has 
many  advantages.  Mr.  Bennett,  however,  has  built 
up  a  valuable  property  in  Paris  in  the  Paris  edition 
of  the  New  York  Herald.  If  my  memory  serves  me, 
he  made  a  similar  attempt  in  London,  but  the  venture 
was  not  equally  successful. 

Yellow  Journalism. — America  is  not  the  home  of 
big  circulations.  That  distinction  belongs  to  England 
and  France.  The  daily  and  weekly  papers  in  the  United 
States,  however,  may  claim  the  record  in  "bigness,"  both 
in  the  number  of  their  pages  and  in  the  size  of  the  type 
used  for  their  display  headlines.  As  a  contrast,  the  Paris 
Midi,  which  is  an  "evening"  newspaper,  published  at 
noon,  is  often  no  bigger  than  a  lady's  handkerchief. 
"Yellow"  journalism,  however,  is  native  to  New 
York.  The  man  responsible  for  it,  William  Randolph 
Hearst,  I  would  describe  as  the  Pierpont  Morgan  of 
journalism.  The  son  of  a  rich  father,  he  had  an  innate 
passion  for  work  combined  with  enterprise  which  amounts 
to  genius.  He  has  fought  the  great  Trusts,  he  risked  the 
popularity  of  his  papers  in  his  efforts  to  free  Cuba,  and 
besides  owning  a  chain  of  papers  with  a  combined  circu- 
lation said  to  run  into  ten  millions,  he  also  owns  maga- 
zines, and  was  long  supposed  to  cherish  an  ambition  to 
extend  his  activities  into  the  realms  of  daily  journalism  in 
England.  I  was  in  a  measure  behind  the  scenes  when 
this  rumour  became  more  than  usually  persistent.  It  had 
some  basis  of  truth,  as  he  acquired  the  Weekly  Budget  and 
Vanity  Fair,  and  started  Nash's  Magazine,  as  an  offshoot 


320  The  Street  of  Ink 

of  his  magazine  in  the  States.  But  for  some  reason  he 
never  acquired  or  started  a  daily  paper.  It  would  have 
been  an  interesting  experiment.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  the  Weekly  Budget,  which  featured  magazine  matter 
and  an  American  comic  supplement  in  colours,  ceased 
publication  with  startling  suddenness.  Rumour  has  it  that 
this  was  owing  to  a  mistake  due  to  misreading  a  cable- 
gram from  America.  Hearst's  chief  leader  writer, 
Arthur  Brisbane,  now  part  owner  of  the  Evening  Journal, 
is  reputed  to  be  the  most  highly  paid  journalist  in 
the  world,  his  salar}-,  according  to  popular  report,  being 
^12,000  a  year. 

"Something   for   Nothing." — A   very   different  type 
was  the  late  Mr.  Whitelaw  Reid,  of  the  Tribune,  and  his 
career,  to  my  mind,  affords  a  curious  parallel  to  that  of  the 
late   Lord   Glenesk.      Lord   Glenesk   worked   his  way   up 
from  the  position  of  Paris  correspondent  at  a  salary  of 
^4  a  week  to  become  proprietor  of  the  Morning  Post, 
and  eventually  a  peer.      Mr.   Reid  progressed  in  a  very 
similar  fashion  on  the  Tribune,  and  became  United  States 
Ambassador  to  Great  Britain.      Mention  of  Mr.  Whitelaw 
Reid  reminds  me  of  a  story  told  me  by  a  journalist  whom 
we  will  call  Jones,  although  that  is  not  his  name.     Jones 
had    a    brother    who    was    a   journalist    of    the    "Dinnei 
specialist "  type,  and  this  brother  was  in  the  habit  of  going 
to  the  American  Embassy  on  the  afternoon  of  Independ- 
ence  Day.     The  story   is  the   more  pointed  because  the 
Jones  who  told  it  to  me  was  not  a  journalist  at  that  time. 
One  Independence  Day  the  brother  said  to  him  :  "Do  you 
want   a    good    afternoon  ? "   and    being   answered    in    the 
affirmative,  gave  the  following  advice:    "Go  up  to  Dor- 
chester House  and  walk  right  in.     As  it  is  Independence 
Day  no  one  will  ask  you  anything  but  your  name.     You'll 
then  be  shown  in  to  Whitelaw  Reid,  who'll  shake  hands 
with  you  and  say,   'Very  glad  to  meet  you,  Mr.  Jones,' 
and  then  you'll  pass  on  to  the  strawberries  and  cream  !  " 


American  and  French  Press       321 

Such  functions  apparently  enlivened  the  dull  season,  when 
public  dinners  were  few,  for  a  certain  type  of  journalist. 

One  thing  they  do  differently  in  the  States  is  the  way 
they  handle  political  news.  The  American  politician 
courts  the  newspapers.  Even  the  President  meets  the 
journalists  in  conference  regularly  twice  a  week,  and  allows 
himself  to  be  cross-examined  freely,  with  the  result  that  his 
views  are  clearly  expressed  in  the  newspapers  throughout 
the  great  cities  from  Maine  to  California.  A  colleague 
told  me  recently  that  he  once  suggested  to  a  well-known 
English  statesman  in  New  York  that  English  public 
opinion  would  benefit  by  the  adoption  of  Mr.  Wilson's 
press  conference  idea.  He  raised  his  hands  in  horror, 
and  said,  "Can  you  imagine  Downing  Street  doing  such 
a  thing?" 

If  we  have  learned  a  good  deal  about  display  headlines 
for  news  from  America,  that  country  has  acquired  dignity 
from  studying  our  methods.  Happily,  although  some  of 
our  papers  have  emulated  the  sensational  style  of  the 
Yellow  Press,  we  have  not  imported  the  interviewing 
methods  employed  by  some  of  the  American  papers.  I 
think  it  w^as  Albert  Chevalier  who  related  that  he 
awoke  one  morning  m  an  American  hotel  to  find  an 
interviewer  by  his  bedside,  and  every  celebrity  who  visits 
the  States  prepares  himself  for  the  army  of  reporters  who 
board  the  liners  on  their  arrival. 

The  French  Papers. — The  difference  between  the 
American  Press  and  the  French  Press  so  far  as  we  are  con- 
cerned seems  to  be  that  we  know  best  the  records  of  the 
papers  in  America  and  the  journalists  in  France.  The  war 
has  brought  many  of  the  latter  into  the  limelight.  Marcel 
Hutin,  of  L'Echo  de  Paris,  is  the  most  eminent  man  on  the 
staff  of  that  paper,  and  may  be  said  to  be  the  most  quoted 
journalist  in  Europe.  "Polybe,"  otherwise  the  famous 
Joseph  Reinach,  of  Le  Figaro,  is  another  noted  journalist 
whose  name  is  familiar  to  English  newspaper  readers.     A 

V 


322  The  Street  of  Ink 

third  is  the  well-known  Socialist,  Gustav  Herve,  a  great 
admirer  of  the  British  Army,  whose  paper,  La  Victoire,  was 
renamed  after  the  war,  its  previous  title  being  La  Guerre 
Sociale.  Typically  French  is  L'Homme  Enchatne  (the 
fettered  man),  a  war  paper,  formerly  called  L'Homme 
Libre,  well  known  this  side  of  the  Channel  as  the  organ  of 
M.  Clemenceau,  former  Prime  Minister  of  France.  When 
%he  Government  suppressed  the  paper  he  wittily  changed 
the  name  to  its  present  title. 

As  in  Great  Britain,  journalism  and  Government  are 
closely  associated,  which  is  perhaps  very  natural  when  you 
come  to  think  of  it.  In  addition  to  Clemenceau,  former 
Ministers  of  France  who  now  devote  themselves  to  jour- 
nalism are  M.  Jean  Dupuy,  proprietor  of  Le  Petit  Parisien, 
and  M.  Stephen  Pichon,  ex-Foreign  Minister,  who  is  on 
the  staff  of  that  journal's  special  rival,  Le  Petit  Journal. 
The  circulations  of  both  these  papers  exceed  one  and  a 
quarter  millions.  Senator  Charles  Humbert  is  political 
director  of  Le  Journal,  a  paper  which  was  started  just 
before  I  came  into  Fleet  Street.  It  may  be  said  that  the 
Journal  effected  a  revolution  in  French  journalism,  and  it 
created  a  sensation  by  its  avowed  policy  to  provide  a 
literary  newspaper  containing  a  complete  news  service, 
with  articles  and  stories  by  popular  writers,  and  serials  by 
the  best  novelists  at  the  price  of  five  centimes.  Despite 
detractors,  the  Journal  was  an  instant  success,  and  has  con- 
tinued in  popularity  to  this  day.  Other  papers  which 
should  be  mentioned  as  having  special  characteristics  are 
Le  Matin,  probably  the  most  popular  middle-class  paper  in 
Paris ;  Le  Temps,  an  evening  paper  and  one  of  the  most 
authoritative  journals  in  France;  and  UHumanite,  for- 
merly associated  with  Jaures,  the  famous  Socialist,  who 
was  shot  in  Paris  during  the  first  week  of  the  war,  and 
whose  death  was  a  European  loss. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  enterprise  shown  by  the 
French    newspaper    men.      Big    circulations    were    built 


American  and  French  Press       323 

up  by  personal  deliveries,  using  motor-cars  for  the 
purpose,  and  a  feature  of  Parisian  journalism  which 
impressed  me  many  years  ago  was  the  giving  of  enter- 
tainments and  tea  by  the  journals  to  their  subscribers, 
many  of  them  having  their  own  concert  rooms. 

Fleet  Street  is  more  familiar  with  Paris  than  with  the 
French  newspapers,  and  the  representatives  of  the  English 
newspapers  in  that  city,  going  back  for  many  years,  form 
as  brilliant  a  band  as  one  could  find.  While  attempts  to 
cater  for  American  visitors  to  Europe  or  for  English  in- 
terest in  America,  by  means  of  special  columns  devoted 
to  American  news,  have  failed,  considerable  popularity 
has  been  achieved  by  the  regular  contributions  of  this 
nature  from  Paris.  Lord  Burnham  told  me  recently 
that  the  column  "Paris  Day  By  Day"  in  the  Daily  Tele- 
graph was  a  popular  feature  to  which  his  father  attached 
great  importance.  It  has  certainly  always  been  done 
extremely  w-ell. 

Alphonse  Courlander,  whose  career  was  cut  short  so 
tragically  in  19 16,  represented  the  Daily  Express,  and  I 
think  that  M.  H.  Donohoe,  of  the  Daily  Chronicle,  was 
also  associated  with  the  Paris  office  of  the  same  paper 
for  a  time.  I  believe  I  am  right  in  saying  that  H. 
Perry  Robinson,  whose  dispatches  from  the  British  Head- 
quarters in  France  have  been  a  feature  in  the  Daily 
News,  was  managing  director  of  the  publishing  firm  of 
Isbisters  at  the  time  when  Courlander  was  a  junior  in 
that  office. 

An  Historic  Wire. — My  colleague,  H.  Cozens-Hardy 
(a  nephew  of  the  Master  of  the  Rolls  and  one  of  a  famous 
journalistic  family),  represented  the  Morning  Leader  in 
Paris  in  1903  and  1904,  and  assisted  with  the  representa- 
tives of  The  Times  and  the  Daily  Telegraph  at  the  birth 
of  L'Entente  Cordiale,  For  nine  years  he  was  the  Morning 
Leader's  special  correspondent  in  America,  and  sent  that 
paper   the    first    intimation    of   the   San    Francisco   earth- 


324  The  Street  of  Ink 

quake  in  the  historic  message  of  the  telegraph  operator 
in  that  city  :  "  Earthquake  hit  us  at  dawn  to-day.  Ceiling 
falling  about  my  ears.  It's  me  for  the  simple  life."  He 
was  in  Paris  again  at  the  outbreak  of  war,  and  was  one  of 
the  only  three  British  journalists  who  remained  in  the  city 
when  the  Germans  were  nearly  at  the  gates.  Archibald 
Marshall,  the  well-known  novelist,  lately  returned  to  his 
first  love,  journalism,  as  Paris  correspondent  of  the  Daily 
News.  One  of  the  best-known  journalists  in  Paris  was 
the  late  John  Raphael.  He  occupied  his  spare  time  in 
adapting  French  plays  for  the  English  stage,  and  his 
hobby  (in  peace  time)  seemed  to  be  the  entertainment  of 
his  English  confreres  and  their  families  when  they 
visited  the  Gay  City.  He  will  be  sadly  missed.  Ralph 
Lane  (Norman  Angell)  was  editor  of  the  Paris  Messenger, 
formerly  known  as  Galignani's  Messenger. 

Press  Methods  Compared. — If  we  were  to  produce 
our  dailies  here  on  the  same  lines  as  many  which  are 
popular  in  America  and  France,  they  would  probably  be 
dismal  failures,  being  unsuited  to  the  British  tempera- 
ment. The  proprietor  who  adopted  the  electric  methods 
of  the  States  would  be  in  much  the  same  position  as  the 
old  darkie  of  a  popular  American  story  w-ho  had  a  mule 
that  wouldn't  budge.  He  w^as  asked,  "What  is  the 
matter  with  your  mule?"  and  replying  that  it  refused  to 
move,  w'as  advised  to  rub  a  little  turpentine  on  the  rear 
part  of  the  animal  and  set  light  to  it.  Observing  the  effect, 
the  darkie  said,  "Look  here,  boss,  would  you  mind  doing 
the  same  to  me  so  that  I  can  catch  that  mule?"  The 
darkie  lost  his  mule,  and  the  newspaper  proprietor  would 
lose  his  money. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE    PAPER   EVERYBODY    WANTS 

The  Street  of  Ink  is  remarkable  in  many  ways,  and 
special  interest  attaches  to  its  highways  and  byways. 
The  Daily  Neivs  office,  like  that  of  the  Daily 
Chronicle,  stands  on  the  site  of  that  Alsatia  which 
was  for  so  Ion 5-  the  sanctuary  of  the  thieves  and  rascals 
of  London.  (Let  me  at  once  anticipate  any  offensive 
retorts  by  adding  that  the  change  which  has  since 
taken  place  shows  how  even  the  worst  places  may 
be  redeemed  by  succeeding  generations  of  high-minded 
and  virtuous  men  !)  Every  side  alley  from  Fleet  Street 
is  historical.  You  may  visit  Dr.  Johnson's  house  in 
Gough  Square,  and  near  by  may  view  the  neat  little 
houses,  set  back  in  neat  little  gardens,  in  one  of  which 
Keir  Hardie  resided  for  so  many  years.  The  Temple,  of 
course,  is  historical  in  every  stone,  and  is  immortalised 
both  in  history  and  in  literature.  There  is  rich  treasure 
for  the  antiquary,  for  the  historian,  for  the  lovers  of 
romance,  and  for  the  curious  in  every  yard  of  the 
thoroughfare,  but  what  the  ordinary  investigator  would 
probably  overlook  is  the  money  which  is  made  in  the  dis- 
trict. By  this  I  do  not  mean  mere  salaries  or  even 
princely  incomes,  but  fortunes.  I  myself  was  almost  a 
millionaire  (for  the  second  time  in  my  life)  for  a  few 
short  moments,  just  as  anyone  may  be  who  can  follow 
my  example. 

Just  off  Fleet  Street,  in  the  Farringdon  Road,  to  be 
precise,  you  will  find  the  firm  of  Bradbury,  Wilkinson  and 
Co.    Although  there  are  no  guards  with  fixed  bayonets  or 

325 


326  The  Street  of  Ink 

anything  to  indicate  that  the  premises  are  in  any  way 
different  from  the  usual  run  of  commercial  buildings,  the 
value  of  the  stock  runs  into  millions  of  pounds,  and  has  to 
be  accounted  for  down  to  the  smallest  portion. 

In  these  offices  I  was  given  notes  of  the  value  of 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  pounds  in  order  to  see  how  it  felt 
to  have  so  much  money.  But  when  I  looked  around 
towards  the  door  I  saw  that  I  was  well  guarded  by  three 
powerful  men,  who  meant  to  see  that  I  did  not  get  away 
with  anything. 

Bradbury,  Wilkinson  and  Co.  are  manufacturers  of 
bank-notes,  and  their  customers  are  the  nations  of  the 
world.  The  chief  interest  of  their  work  to  a  Pressman 
lies  in  the  fact  that,  whereas  the  production  of  a  news- 
paper calls  for  the  highest  possible  rate  of  printing,  the 
production  of  bank-notes — the  paper  that  everybody  wants 
— demands  the  slowest.  Every  part  of  the  process  in 
the  one  case  is  rapid  and  in  the  other  just  as  leisurely. 
The  one  process  is  the  most  elaborate,  the  other  the  most 
utilitarian.  The  paper  used  is  also  very  dissimilar.  News- 
papers, of  course,  pay  very  much  more  heavily  for  paper 
than  they  did  before  the  war,  but  the  bank-note  manu- 
facturer pays  the  highest  rate  for  his  paper,  the  cost  of 
which  frequently,  in  the  case  of  water-marked  varieties, 
reaches  3s.  per  lb. 

To  carry  the  comparison  a  little  farther,  it  is  the 
business  both  of  newspapers  and  of  bank-note  manu- 
facturers to  make  money,  but  whereas  all  the  latter 
are  successful,  the  same  cannot  be  said  of  the  news- 
papers. It  will  therefore  interest  "ink-slingers"  to  learn 
of  the  infallible  system  for  making  money  which  is  carried 
out  by  Messrs.  Bradbury,  Wilkinson.  The  first  thing  is 
to  prepare  the  design,  which  must  be  passed  by  the  bank 
of  issue  before  the  engraving  is  put  in  hand.  When  the 
design  is  passed  the  die  from  which  the  notes  are  to  be 
printed  is  made  with  the  aid  of  an  elaborate  geometric 


The  Paper  Everybody  Wants      327 

lathe  machine,  which  produces  a  required  pattern  with 
uncanny  facility  and  precision.  The  preparation  being 
complete,  the  basic  design  is  transferred  to  a  steel  roll 
under  great  pressure,  and  from  this  it  is  transferred  to  the 
die.  The  vignette,  or  view,  is  engraved  by  an  artist  on 
a  separate  die,  and  goes  through  the  same  transferring 
process  as  the  lathe  work.  Finally,  the  textual  matter  is 
engraved  on  the  original  die. 

The  die  is  a  negative,  and  it  is  now  hardened  and  a 
transfer  roll  taken  giving  a  raised  positive  on  its  surface. 
After  a  further  hardening  process  the  positive  is  trans- 
ferred to  a  soft  steel  plate,  which  is  ruled  into  sections  so 
that  it  will  yield  four,  six,  or  eight,  or  even  more  notes  to 
each  sheet  of  paper,  according  to  the  size  of  the  notes,  and 
this  plate  is  then  hardened  for  printing. 

During  these  processes  the  originals  have  to  be  "read" 
just  as  is  the  case  with  newspaper  copy.  Each  portion  of 
it  is  read,  before  it  is  assembled  on  the  original  die.  A 
print  from  this  is  again  read  against  the  design,  after 
which  the  printing  plate  is  carefully  scrutinised  for  im- 
perfections. While  the  plate  is  being  made  ready  for  the 
printer  the  various  colour  protection  blocks  are  being  pre- 
pared by  another  process.  When  an  elaborate  colour 
protection  is  wanted,  several  blocks  may  be  used. 

In  printing  from  steel  plates  it  has  been  so  far  im- 
possible to  find  a  way  of  dispensing  with  the  necessity  of 
wetting  the  paper  before  each  printing  operation.  This 
necessitates  hand-feeding  and  taking  off.  As  the  result 
of  many  costly  experiments  which  are  still  being  carried 
on,  the  process  has  been  speeded  up,  and  as  was  the  case 
with  the  newspapers,  the  difficulties  which  stand  in  the 
way  of  rapid  printing  will  doubtless  be  solved  some  day. 
Unfortunately  that  will  not  mean  that  we  shall  all  be  able 
to  buy  bank-notes  cheap.  You  can,  however  (if  you  are  a 
bank  or  a  Government  which  issues  notes),  purchase  cheap 
notes  or  expensive  ones  according  to  your  desire.      The 


328  The  Street  of  Ink 

bank-note  manufacturer  gives  his  quotations  like  any  other 
printer,  although  he  does  not  recommend  the  use  of  any- 
thing but  the  best  as  offering  the  greatest  difficulty  to 
the  forger,  cheaper  styles  being  generally  confined  to 
temporary  issues. 

There  is  another  reason  why  the  slowness  of  the  print- 
ing process  for  bank-notes  can  hardly  be  removed.  The 
notes,  of  course,  are  numbered,  and  each  number  must 
fall  into  the  exact  space  allotted  to  it.  As  the  paper  has 
been  wetted  and  dried  and  consequently  has  stretched  or 
shrunk,  all  the  sheets  therefore  have  to  be  measured  and 
adjusted  with  extreme  accuracy. 

Checking  is  one  of  the  most  exacting  of  the  operations 
in  a  bank-note  house  and,  owing  to  the  necessary  per- 
sistency with  which  it  is  carried  out,  one  of  the  most  ex- 
pensive. Firstly,  all  paper  is  counted  in  from  the  manu- 
facturer's (whether  plain  or  water-marked  paper)  into  the 
paper  strong-room.  From  there  it  is  issued  and  counted 
to  the  warehouse.  When  wanted  for  work,  it  is  again 
counted  and  issued  to  the  first  printing  department;  this 
printing  department  counts  it  in,  hands  it  to  the  machine- 
minder,  who  is  responsible  for  it  until  a  ream  is  com- 
pleted, when  it  is  again  counted  back  to  the  warehouse, 
and  the  minder's  responsibility  ends.  After  the  first 
working  on  the  paper  has  settled  down  it  is  counted  out 
for  the  second  printing,  and  exactly  the  same  procedure 
is  followed  until  the  paper  is  completely  printed  and  re- 
turned to  the  warehouse  for  the  examination  of  all  opera- 
tions. Only  good  printed  work  is  given  out  for  number- 
ing, and  this  is  carefully  watched  as  it  is  running  in  the 
numbering  machines,  checked  in  the  sheets  as  it  is  run- 
ning, and  checked  in  the  sheet  by  the  warehouse ;  in  fact, 
every  sheet  in  process  of  manufacture  is  accounted  for  at 
the  close  of  work  each  day  in  the  same  manner  that  the 
cash  is  balanced  daily  in  a  bank.  The  sheets  are  now 
kept  in  exactly  the  same  rotation  through  the  operations 


The  Paper  Everybody  Wants      329 

of  hand  and  machine  cutting  into  single  notes.  They  are 
then  carefully  examined  and  counted,  the  sequence  of  the 
numbering  is  rigorously  checked  and  any  spoilage  made 
good;  they  are  again  checked  and  finally  counted  before 
packing,  into  hundreds  or  five  hundreds  as  the  case 
may  be. 

The  chief  executive  duties  in  connection  with  this  busi- 
ness devolve  upon  the  managing  director,  H.  Leslie  Hen- 
driks,  whom  I  have  known  practically  ever  since  he  joined 
the  firm,  and  I  look  upon  him  as  an  extremely  capable 
business  man,  of  whom  a  deal  more  will  be  heard  in 
the  future.  He  told  me  that  the  earliest  specimen  of  a 
bank-note  known  to  exist  is  one  which  was  issued 
in  China  about  a.d.  1399.  It  measures  nine  by 
thirteen  inches,  and  seems  to  have  been  printed  from 
wooden  blocks.  It  contains  some  curious  wording, 
and  mentions  among  other  things  that  "It  is  Govern- 
ment money  current  anywhere  under  heaven.  This 
note  shall  be  accepted  as  copper  cash.  Counterfeiters 
hereof  will  be  executed,"  and  goes  on  to  say  that  persons 
giving  information  of  counterfeiters  will  be  rewarded  with 
money,  and  in  addition  will  receive  property  belonging 
to  the  criminal. 

The  chairman  of  the  company  is  P.  Wilmot  Wil- 
kinson, a  son  of  R.  W.  Wilkinson,  who,  together 
with  the  late  Henry  Bradbury,  of  Bradbury,  Agnew  and 
Co.,  was  the  original  founder  of  the  firm,  some  sixty  odd 
years  ago.  Another  director,  Pietro  Rogers  Santini, 
whose  time  is  principally  devoted  to  travelling  abroad  in 
the  firm's  interests,  is  at  present  serving  as  an  officer 
in  the  Italian  Army.  The  remaining  directors  are 
Duncan  G.  Tolmie,  who  is  in  charge  of  the  financial  side 
of  the  business;  J.  E.  Huxtable,  a  member  of  the  well- 
known  firm  of  solicitors,  Messrs.  Paines,  Blyth  and  Hux- 
table;  A.  Lowes  Dickinson,  who  is  a  partner  of  Messrs. 
Price,  Waterhouse  and  Co. ;  and  George  T.  Foxon,  who 


330  The  Street  of  Ink 

has  charge  of  the  manufacturing  side  of  the  business, 
where  he  has  made  a  fine  record  as  an  efficient  works  ad- 
ministrator. I  have  met  Mr.  Foxon  on  several  occasions, 
and  my  sole  complaint  against  him  (which  applies  also  to 
Cecil  S.  W.  Jenkins,  the  secretary  and  sales  manager,  for 
whose  ability  Mr.  Hendriks  has  a  very  high  regard)  is 
that  these  two  declined  to  let  me  depart  with  the  stock  of 
bank-notes  that  filled  my  pockets  on  the  occasion  above 
referred  to. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE   TRADE    PRESS    AND   CONCLUSION 

As  ^vas  the  case  with  the  provincial  Press,  another  section 
that  I  cannot  attempt  to  deal  adequately  with  is  the  trade 
and  technical  Press.  Let  the  reader  open  a  newspaper 
directory  and  glance  at  the  hundreds  of  trade  papers  men- 
tioned. He  will  see  that  trades  which  he  considered 
limited  have  perhaps  two  or  three  papers  catering  for  their 
interests.  Even  then  he  will  be  unable  to  understand  how 
important  these  papers  are.  Journals  like  the  Lancet  and 
the  Electrician,  Engineering,  the  British  Medical  Journal, 
the  Grocer,  the  Ironmonger,  and  the  Drapers'  Record  (to 
mention  a  few  representative  examples)  are  written  and 
read  by  men  of  the  greatest  attainments,  and  those  who 
have  not  seen  such  journals  would  receive  a  very  illuminat- 
ing example  of  the  importance  of  this  section  of  journalistic 
work  if  they  perused  their  pages. 

Trade  and  technical  journals  fill  two  very  important 
functions;  they  form  a  valuable  means  of  promoting 
trade  between  manufacturers,  merchants,  and  retailers, 
and  they  also  disseminate  technical  information  which 
materially  advances  the  interests  of  the  particular  industries 
they  represent. 

Each  of  the  principal  trades  is  represented  by  at 
least  one  organ,  and  in  some  cases  by  several;  even 
the  hairdresser  and  the  undertaker  have  their  trade 
papers.  As  science  or  discovery  brings  a  new  industry 
into  being,  new  journals  arise  to  promote  progress. 
The  motor-car,  the  aeroplane,  wireless  telegraphy,  the 
cinema  have  all  brought  new  papers  in  their  train,  and  it 

331 


332  The  Street  of  Ink 

is  certain  that  every  new  industrial  development  will  be 
similarly  fostered  by  some  enterprising  inhabitant  of  the 
Street  of  Ink.  Similarly,  the  hobbies  and  personal  in- 
terests of  the  general  public  are  catered  for  by  class  papers. 
Gardening,  photography,  fishing,  golf,  mechanics, 
philately,  yachting,  music,  and  sports  of  all  kinds  have 
their  special  organs,  each  with  its  enthusiastic  band  of 
readers.  ]\Iedical  and  dental  science,  religion,  education, 
law,  local  government,  insurance,  and  other  branches  of 
public  or  professional  work  are  also  amply  represented 
in  the  world  of  class  journals.  Many  of  these  papers 
have  a  considerable  circulation  in  the  Colonies,  and 
thus  help  in  maintaining  and  strengthening  the  bonds  of 
Empire. 

Many  trade  papers  have  an  exclusively  trade  circula- 
tion, copies  being  obtainable  by  subscription  only,  and 
no  person  who  is  not  legitimately  engaged  in  the  trade 
represented  is  accepted  as  a  subscriber.  Such  journals 
contain  a  good  deal  of  trade  information  as  to  prices,  dis- 
counts, and  other  matters  which  it  is  not  desirable  should 
go  beyond  proper  trade  circles.  Other  papers  dealing 
with  trade  and  technical  affairs  on  a  broader  basis  are 
supplied  through  the  ordinary  distributing  channels  and 
are  accessible  to  all. 

Apart  from  these,  there  are  periodicals  which  cover 
business  generally,  such  as  the  World's  Work,  an  inter- 
esting monthly  which  makes  a  feature  of  instructive 
articles  and  illustrated  sketches  of  leading  men ;  and  the 
Efficiency  Magazine,  edited  by  Herbert  N.  Casson,  one  of 
the  most  forceful  speakers  I  have  ever  heard,  who  rattles 
off  epigrams  like  a  human  machine-gun.  Higham's  Maga- 
zine, cleverly  edited  by  C.  F.  Higham,  is  another  success- 
ful business  periodical  which  I  always  find  stimulating.  A 
little  monthly  which  I  don't  quite  know  how  to  classify  is 
Impressions;  it  emanates  from  Edinburgh,  and  G.  E. 
Whitehouse,  the  editor,  has  gained  many  good  opinions 


The  Trade  Press  333 

in  consequence  of  the  philosophy  of  business  which  he 
expounds  in  the  pages  of  his  magazine. 

The  "Newspaper  World." — The  Newspaper  World 
is  the  journahst's  trade  paper.  It  was  estabHshed  in 
January,  1898,  as  the  Newspaper  Owner  and  Manager, 
and  appeared  under  the  more  comprehensive  title  of 
the  Newspaper  World  in  July,  1913.  Mr.  Baker, 
the  proprietor,  is  a  man  who  enjoys  the  respect  of  the 
whole  Street  of  Ink  owing  to  his  fearlessness  and  in- 
dependence, as  well  as  to  the  valuable  work  he  does 
through  his  interesting  journal.  I  learn  from  him  that  he 
started  the  paper  because  of  a  chance  sight  of  a  copy  of 
the  Fourth  Estate,  of  New  York.  The  Newspaper  Owner 
undoubtedly  filled  a  want,  as  although  there  had  been  un- 
successful attempts  to  cater  for  those  engaged  in  the 
literary  and  w^orking  sides  of  journalism,  the  newspaper 
producers  had  been  unrepresented  in  Great  Britain.  The 
present  policy  is  based  upon  the  idea  that  employers  and 
workers  are  essential  to  each  other's  interests,  and  not 
mutually  antagonistic,  and  in  that  spirit  Mr.  Baker  deals 
with  the  many  varied  aspects  of  a  vast  and  complicated 
industrv. 

Among  the  principles  w^hich  the  Newspaper  World 
has  steadily  advocated  are  the  promotion  of  journalistic 
amenities,  the  refusal  of  objectionable  advertisements,  and 
adherence  to  scale  rates,  all  of  which  have  been  put 
into  practice  consistently  from  the  start.  The  Newspaper 
World  has  also  done  excellent  work  in  tracking  down 
frauds  on  new'spapers  and  in  the  exposure  of  swindling 
advertisers.  Mr.  Baker  tells  me  that  in  one  case  p^ioo 
had  been  paid  by  a  London  newspaper  to  avoid  a  libel 
action  by  a  man  whose  suicide  it  had  reported.  The 
Newspaper  World  proved  that  the  cutting  from  which  the 
paragraph  in  question  had  been  written  was  actually  printed 
by  the  man  himself  on  the  back  of  a  partly  printed  news- 
paper sheet,  and  sent  by  him  under  another  name  to  the 


334  The  Street  of  Ink 

newspaper.  The  interest  taken  in  the  paper  is  shown  by 
the  large  number  of  letters  to  the  editor,  and  the  notes  writ- 
ten "By  Newspaper  Men  for  Newspaper  Men."  Leaders 
of  the  newspaper  world  all  contribute  to  its  columns. 

Mr.  Baker,  who  is  now  sixty-five  years  of  age,  com- 
menced his  journalistic  career  at  the  age  of  seventeen, 
when  he  became  paid  district  correspondent  for  the  Dews- 
bury  Reporter.  At  twenty-one  he  joined  the  staff  of  the 
Maidstone  and  Kentish  Journal,  of  which  he  afterwards 
became,  sub-editor,  and  was  successively  proprietor  and 
editor  of  the  Maidstone  and  Kent  County  Standard  and 
of  the  Dewsbury  Chronicle.  In  the  interval  between  these 
proprietorships  and  the  editorship  of  the  Newspaper 
World  he  acted  as  London  correspondent  for  several  pro- 
vincial newspapers.  He  deserv^es  well  of  newspaper 
men  in  view  of  his  services  to  the  Street  of  Ink,  and  no 
journalist  that  I  know  of  has  the  right  to  look  back  upon 
his  career  with  greater  satisfaction.  Percy  G.  Smith,  the 
assistant  editor  and  manager,  has  been  with  the  Ne%vs- 
paper  World  during  fifteen  of  the  nineteen  years  of  its 
existence.  In  the  mechanical  department  most  of  the 
employees  had  ten  or  more  years'  record  of  service  until 
the  war  exigencies  claimed  the  services  of  many  of  them. 

Development  of  Advertising. — Advertising  has  kept 
pace  with  journalistic  enterprise,  and  in  many  cases 
the  advertising  copy  ornaments  the  newspaper  pages,  to 
which  it  gives  a  pleasing  variety.  The  newspaper  pro- 
prietor recognises  these  facts  as  the  reader  should  do, 
and  he  pays  tribute  not  only  to  the  advertiser,  who,  of 
course,  reaps  a  rich  harvest  from  the  newspapers,  but 
to  the  unique  service  of  agents  who  have  developed 
advertising  by  their  skill,  and  assisted  the  newspapers  by 
enabling  them  to  deal  economically  and  conveniently  with 
hundreds  of  advertisers  as  collective  clients  of  the  agents 
instead  of  as  individuals. 

I  often  think  that  it  was  a  significant  sign  of  the  times 


The  Trade  Press  335 

that  at  the  dinners  of  the  Sphinx  Club  (of  which  Mr. 
John  Morgan  Richards — one  of  the  most  courtly  men  I 
ever  met — was  a  founder  and  first  President)  Mr.  Balch 
(who  was  succeeded  by  Sir  William  Lever  and  Mr.  H.  E. 
Morgan  respectively)  used  to  preside  over  assemblies 
comprising  judges  and  national  and  civic  dignitaries  of  all 
sorts,  whom  he  entertained  with  an  easy  hospitality  which 
they  would  accept  in  the  same  spirit.  For  some  years  past 
^lorgan  has  been  closely  identified  with  public  work,  and 
after  the  outbreak  of  war  received  an  important  appoint- 
ment at  the  Ministry  of  Munitions.  My  friend,  Mostyn 
T.  Pigott,  whose  work  is  probably  better  known  to  the 
public  than  his  name,  although  few  men  are  better  known 
or  better  liked  in  the  Street  of  Ink,  was  also  a  tow'er  of 
strength  to  the  Sphinx  Club,  until  its  activities  were 
suspended  by  the  war.  His  witty  summaries  of  the  debates 
were  a  delightful  feature  of  many  an  evening  which  com- 
bined interest,  pleasure  and  instructive  discussion  of 
current  topics.  Since  1894,  when  the  editor  of  the  World 
asked  him  and  Owen  Seaman  to  write  for  that  paper,  up  to 
the  outbreak  of  war,  he  has  written  for  its  columns,  week 
by  week,  under  various  proprietors  and  editors,  mainly 
light  verse,  over  his  own  name  and  the  name  of  "Testudo." 
For  nearly  twenty-five  years  he  never  failed  to  send  a  set 
of  verses  a  week  to  the  World,  although  on  one  or  two 
occasions  something  went  wrong  and  they  did  not  appear. 
Pigott  has  also  contributed  largely  to  the  Press  as  a 
free  lance,  and  most  of  the  popular  periodicals  have 
published  his  work  from  time  to  time.  He  is  also  the 
author  of  various  lyrics  and  of  a  play,  and  incidentally 
was  founder  and  first  editor  of  the  Isis. 

THE  "ADVERTISER'S  WEEKLY"/ 

In  England  there  are  one  weekly  and  two  monthlies 
published  for  the  benefit  of  advertisers.  They  are  well 
informed  and  conducted  with  a  spirit  that  makes  them  at 


336  The  Street  of  Ink 

once  interesting  and  useful.  The  Advertiser's  Weekly  was 
founded  by  George  Edgar  and  J.  C.  Akerman.  The  latter, 
whose  enterprise  is  well  known,  relinquished  his  interest  to 
join  the  staff  of  The  Times,  and  the  paper  is  now  controlled 
by  George  Edgar  and  Charles  Proctor,  assisted  by  Wallace 
Gandy.  Edgar  can  claim  to  have  done  almost  every  kind 
of  work  a  newspaper  man  can  do  who  starts  as  a  junior 
reporter,  works  his  way  through  local  papers  on  to  pro- 
vincial dailies,  and  ends  his  career  in  daily  journalism  as 
a  free  lance.  He  wields  a  singularly  graceful  pen, 
and  in  addition  to  his  delightful  essays,  is  the  author 
of  many  successful  novels.  He  has  also  produced 
a  cinema  play  based  upon  one  of  his  books.  He  was 
brought  into  touch  with  trade  journalism  by  joining 
Charles  Baker  of  the  Newspaper  World,  whom  he 
describes  as  "perhaps  the  straightest  and  pleasantest  man 
I  have  ever  met  in  '  The  Street  of  Ink.'  "  He  was  also 
the  editor  of  Modern  Business,  now  amalgamated  with 
System,  which  my  friend  K.  W.  Johnson,  who  controls 
that  admirable  monthly,  will  allow  me  to  class  by  itself  as 
a  journal  devoted  to  business  generally. 

"PRINTERS'  INK" 

Edgar  was  offered  the  editorship  of  Printers'  Ink  when 
Jesse  D.  Hampton  established  a  weekly  edition  of  the 
"Little  Schoolmaster" — as  the  American  edition  is  termed 
by  its  admirers.  He  did.  not  see  his  way  to  take 
up  the  duties,  and  Hampton  edited  it  himself  until 
Eric  Field  (now  with  Sir  Hedley  Le  Bas)  was  given  the 
appointment.  Printers'  Ink  has  been  edited  for  some 
years  by  T.  Swinborne  Sheldrake,  who  unites  a  wide 
knowledge  of  publicity  and  business,  and  has  performed 
valuable  work  in  the  furtherance  of  advertising. 

THE  "ADVERTISING  WORLD" 

There  remains  the  Advertising  World  which,  as  I  have 
already  pointed  out,  was  started  by  W.  E.  Berry  and  his 


The  Trade  Press  337 

brother,  Gomer  Berry.  This  monthly  also  has  shown 
great  enterprise,  and  done  well  despite  the  war.  H.  Val 
Fisher,  who  shares  the  credit  for  this  with  Sidney  Allnutt, 
the  capable  editor,  lately  joined  the  Army. 

A  good  deal  of  the  high  opinion  I  hold  of  the  trade 
papers  in  general  is  due  to  the  men  engaged  in  that  depart- 
ment of  journalism  with  whom  I  have  come  into  contact. 
Lord  Northcliffe  has  paid  tribute  to  the  training  he  received 
in  the  offices  of  Messrs.  Iliffe.  My  friend  Percival  Marshall 
(of  Percival  Marshall  and  Co.,  publishers  of  the  Model 
Engineer,  the  Power  User,  and  other  prosperous  technical 
journals),  who  is  a  cousin  of  Sir  Horace  Marshall,  tells  a 
good  story  of  how  he  nearly  joined  the  same  firm.  He  was 
offered  the  editorship  of  Bicycling  News  by  Mr.  William 
Iliffe,  and  in  response  to  his  invitation  to  call  was  greeted 
thus:  "Good  morning,  Mr.  Marshall — sit  down,  please — 
can  you  write  a  good  libel  ?  "  It  was  rather  an  embarrass- 
ing start,  but  Marshall  assured  him  that,  given  a  deserv- 
ing subject,  he  was  equal  to  writing  as  good  a  libel  as  he 
would  see  his  way  to  publish.  It  seems  that  Mr.  Iliffe,  so 
far  from  wanting  libels,  was  at  that  time  suffering  from  the 
vagaries  of  the  libel  law  and  the  uncertainty  of  a  British 
jury. 

Marshall,  who  is  a  most  witty  letter  and  leader  writer 
and  an  artist  of  no  mean  merit,  is  a  prominent  member 
of  the  recently-formed  British  Association  of  Trade  and 
Technical  Journals,  which  is  managed  by  a  council  of 
sixteen,  the  first  chairman  being  Mr.  S.  Charles  Phillips 
of  the  Paper  Maker.  The  present  chairman  is  Mr.  W.  A. 
Standring,  of  the  Motor  Trader. 

Discussing  trade  journals  with  Marshall  he  observed 
that  while  a  number  of  daily  papers  were  represented 
in  the  membership  of  the  House  of  Lords  past  and  present, 
he  could  not  recall  that  any  trade  journal  had  been  so 
favoured.  (I  have  a  shrewd  suspicion  he  has  his  eye  on 
a    vacant   seat,    which    he   would   fill    well.)      "Perhaps," 

w 


338  The  Street  of  Ink 

he  said,  "it  is  more  appropriate  that  a  business  paper 
should  be  honoured  in  a  business  community,"  and 
pointed  out  as  a  notable  example  of  this  the  fact  that 
the  late  Sir  Walter  Vaughan  Morgan,  Bart.,  was  prob- 
ably the  only  newspaper  proprietor  Avho  ever  became  Lord 

Mayor  of  London. 

CONCLUSION 

Like  the  story-teller  of  the  "Arabian  Nights  Enter- 
tainments," the  chronicler  of  the  Street  of  Ink  could  go 
on  almost  indefinitely  and  produce  a  thousand  and  one 
romances.  I  would  like  to  tell  the  fascinating  story  con- 
cerning the  many  historic  landmarks  and  interesting 
buildings  which  are  to  be  found  in  its  highways  and 
byways,  but  this  with  much  that  I  have  had  to  leave  un- 
written must  be  reserved  for  another  time  and  place,  and 
perhaps  for  another  writer. 

Some  day  also  a  future  historian  of  the  Press  will  do 
justice  to  the  work  performed  by  the  Fourth  Estate  in 
connection  with  the  war.  The  Street  of  Ink  has  given 
its  full  quota  to  the  field  of  glory.  Many  names  of  those 
who  have  been  serving  in  the  cause  of  freedom  appear  in 
the  foregoing  pages.  They  laid  down  the  pen  for  the 
sword  in  order  to  make  the  pen  mightier  than  the  sword, 
and  there  cannot  be  a  newspaper  building  in  the  kingdom 
from  which  some  are  not  absent  in  the  pursuit  of  their 
country's  business.  Many  of  them  have  gone  from  my 
own  office,  and  some  of  them,  alas  !  will  not  take  up  the 
pen  again,  for  they  lie  in  heroes'  graves.  This  brief 
tribute  must  serve  to  summarise  one  of  the  most  glorious 
chapters  in  the  history  of  journalism. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  importance 
of  the  national  work  performed  by  journalists  and  the 
newspapers  in  connection  with  the  great  conflict.  By 
means  of  the  Press  armies  have  been  created,  millions  of 
men  and  women  have  been  secured  for  war  work,  the 
regulation  of  the  exchanges  has  been  facilitated,  the  nation 


War  Work  of  the  Press  339 

has  been  kept  acquainted  with  its  duties  by  the  Govern- 
ment, and  the  case  for  the  AlHes  has  been  brought  before 
the  neutral  nations.  One  has  only  to  imagine  the  Empire 
without  newspapers  to  realise  that  the  miracles  we  have 
witnessed  were  only  made  possible  by  utilising  the  won- 
derful organisation  of  the  Press.  Sir  Arthur  Pearson 
(whose  work  I  have  previously  mentioned)  and  Sir  Hedley 
Le  Bas  are  two  outstanding  figures  in  the  Street  of  Ink 
who  could  bear  me  out  in  this.  Le  Bas  is  best  known 
to  the  public  for  his  work  in  connection  with  the  Prince  of 
Wales's  Fund,  the  Lord  Kitchener  National  Memorial 
Fund,  and  as  adviser  to  the  War  Office  and  Treasury  on 
publicity.  These,  however,  do  not  by  any  means  complete 
his  activities   in   national  and  charitable  affairs. 

I  remember,  not  so  long  ago,  that  the  Hon.  Sydney 
Holland,  now  Viscount  Knutsford,  had  the  reputation  of 
being  the  greatest  beggar  on  behalf  of  charitable  institu- 
tions in  the  universe,  but  surely  Le  Bas  has  eclipsed  his 
record,  not  only  with  the  work  he  did  in  conjunction  with 
Sir  Arthur  Pearson  in  raising  upwards  of  six  millions  for 
the  Prince  of  Wales's  Fund,  but  also  for  his  achievements 
on  behalf  of  the  other  funds  and  financial  committees  with 
which  he  was  associated. 

In  connection  with  his  work  for  the  War  Office,  the 
most  spectacular  of  which  was,  of  course,  the  advertising 
campaign  for  recruits,  he  went  to  Ireland  on  behalf  of  the 
Government.  On  his  return  he  told  me  a  good  story  to 
the  effect  that  he  was  talking  to  the  old  Irish  father  of  a 
soldier  who  had  just  won  the  V.C.,  and  remarked  that  he 
could  probably  be  sure  that  there  would  be  no  wars 
in  our  time  after  this  one.  The  old  man  received  the 
suggestion  dolefully,  but  suddenly  he  brightened  up : 
"Shure,"  he  said,  "there  will  always  be  the  police  !  " 

My  friendship  with  Le  Bas  goes  back  very  many 
years,  long  before  he  started  his  journalistic  enterprises. 
When  I  first  met  him  I  was  attracted  by  the  breeziness 


340  The  Street  of  Ink 

of  manner  and  sociability  which  make  him  like  a 
jolly  schoolboy  when  away  from  his  business  interests. 
We  soon  became  fast  friends,  and  many  a  good  time  I 
have  had  with  him  "out  of  school,"  so  to  speak,  when  he 
has  helped  me  to  share  his  capacity  for  casting  aside 
business  cares  and  becoming  young  again. 

His  association  with  the  Street  of  Ink  started  when  he 
founded  the  Caxton  Publishing  Company  which,  by  his 
original  and  energetic  methods,  he  soon  made  a  great 
success.  He  founded  and  published  Modern  Business, 
and  has  also  been  a  director  of  Messrs.  George  Newnes, 
Limited,  Messrs.  C.  Arthur  Pearson,  Limited,  and  of  the 
Church  Family  Newspaper.  For  a  short  time  he  was 
managing  director  of  T.  P.'s  Weekly,  at  "T.  P.'s" 
request.  He  is  an  enthusiastic  and  good  golfer,  and  also 
a  magnificent  swimmer,  and  holds  the  coveted  medal  of 
the  Royal  Humane  Society  for  saving  life. 

There  are  many  eminent  men  who  deserve  a  chapter 
in  this  book,  and  I  merely  quote  Le  Bas  as  a  typical 
example. 

*  *  *  *  * 

As  I  come  to  the  close  of  this  book  it  reminds  me 
that  the  end  of  day  is  the  time  when  activity  reigns  in 
the  Street  of  Ink.  As  the  average  worker  returns  home, 
the  newspaper  man  goes  to  work.  While  the  world  sleeps 
the  newspaper  offices  are  hives  of  industry,  alive  with  a 
thousand  sounds  and  that  odour  of  printers'  ink  which, 
strange  as  it  may  seem,  is  to  the  journalist  as  the  smell  of 
the  sea  to  the  sailor. 

Through  the  evening  the  tape  and  telegraph  machines 
tick  out  their  songs  to  the  busy  and  matter-of-fact  sub- 
editors. Boys  rush  hither  and  thither  with  copy,  gathering 
it  in  from  the  outside  world,  delivering  it  to  the  editor  and 
his  staff,  and  from  them  to  the  printers.  Upstairs  the 
linotypes  perform    their    miracles,   and   the    readers   scan 


Genii  of  the  Press  341 

their  proofs.  A  little  lower  down  men  stripped  to  the 
waist  toil  with  the  plates  in  the  foundry,  near  where  the 
monsters  of  machines  wait  for  them,  so  that  they  can  de- 
vour their  enormous  meal  of  paper.  Presently  is  heard  the 
sound  which  denotes  that  their  meal  has  begun — for  they 
are  not  polite  eaters — many  tons  being  demolished  in  a 
few  minutes,  and  the  publisher  and  his  staff  know  that 
their  time  is  near.  It  is  largely  due  to  these  workers, 
little  thought  of  by  the  average  purchaser  of  a  newspaper 
(thougli  the  head  printer  is  a  great  and  respected  man  in 
the  Street  of  Ink,  and  the  publisher  is  one  who  has  thou- 
sands of  customers  who  must  be  supplied  within  a  few 
short  hours),  that  the  reader  is  enabled  to  find  his  favourite 
newspaper  waiting  with  the  news  of  the  w^orld  upon  his 
breakfast  table,  at  an  hour  when  the  genii  who  have 
put  it  there  are  going  to  bed. 

Dozens  of  motor-cars,  carts,  and  cyclists  are  in  at- 
tendance waiting  for  the  machines  to  deliver  up  the  tens 
of  thousands  of  packages,  which  are  conveyed  with 
tremendous  speed  to  all  the  important  railway  centres. 
There  special  newspaper  trains  are  in  waiting,  and  usu- 
ally only  a  few  seconds  remain  to  deposit  the  enormous 
parcels  safely  before  the  whistle  blows  to  scatter  the  burn- 
ing news  of  the  day  and  half  the  night  to  every  town  and 
hamlet  in  the  United  Kingdom.  Small  wonder  that  so 
many  seekers  of  romance  find  their  steps  leading  them  to 
the  Street  of  Ink. 

Although  I  started  this  work  when  busier  than  in  any 
previous  period  of  my  life,  and  have  burnt  a  great  deal  of 
the  "midnight  electric"  in  compiling  it,  never  going  to 
rest  without  a  writing  pad  and  pencil  by  my  side,  whicli 
nightly  chronicled  many  thoughts,  it  has  enabled  me  to 
indulge  in  a  delightful  retrospect.  If  my  readers  are  en- 
abled to  share  that  pleasure,  it  will  diminish  the  personal 
regret  with  which  I  now  lay  down  my  pen. 


INDEX 


X  Beckett,  Arthur,  editor  of  Sun- 
day Times,  131 
Abercrombie,   Lascelles,  and  Liver- 
fool  Courier,  207 
Aberdeen  Evening  Ex-press,  1S6 
Aberdeen  Evening  Gazette,   184 
Aberdeen  Free  Press,  184-5 
Aberdeen  Jour7ial,  181; 
Aberdeen  Weekly  Journal,   186 
Ackland,     W.     A.,     former     editor 

Daily  Graphic,  253 
Adcock,   A.    St.    John,   co-editor   of 

Bookman,   304 
Advertiser'' s  Weekly,  336 
Advertising  World,   129,   336 
"  Agravaine "  of  Referee,   147 
Ainsworth,  Harrison,  novels  by,  in 

Sunday  Times,   130 
Aitken,   Sir  Max  (afterwards  Lord 
Beaverbrook),     at     the     Globe, 
96 
Akerman,  J.  C,  of  The  Times,  336 
Alexander,    Henry,  editor  of  Aber- 
deen Free  Press,  185 
Alexander,         Henry        (secundus), 
editor  of  Aberdeen  Free  Press, 

185 

Alexander,  William,  Dr.,  former 
editor  of  Aberdeen  Free  Press, 
184 

Alexander,  WiUiam  McCombie,  of 
Aberdeen  Free  Press,  185 

Allberry,  A.  S.,  art  editor  of 
Bystander,  254 

Allen,  Grant,  contributor  to  West- 
minster  Gazette,   100 

Allison,  James  Murray,  acquires 
Land  and  Water,  266 

Allison,  William,  of  Sportsman,  125 

Allnutt,  Sidney,  of  Advertising 
World,  337 

Alloa  Advertiser,  202 

Alma-Tadema,  Sir  L.,  R.A.,  con- 
tributor to  Graphic,  248 


Amalgamated  Press,  birth  of,  291 ; 
brilliant  success  of,  291  ;  under 
the  guidance  and  control  of 
Lord  Northcliffe,  292 ;  prin- 
ciple of  remuneration  of  staff, 
293 ;  developments  and  suc- 
cesses, 294-5 ;  various  publica- 
tions of,  295-6 ;  members  of 
staff,  296-7 ;  employees  on  war 
service,  297 

American  Press,  features  of,  318-21 

Anderson,  David,  formerly  of 
Sportsman,  125;  with  Daily 
Telegraph,  125 

Anderson,  Sir  James,  founder  of 
Exchange  Telegraph  Company, 

175 

Anderson,  Tod,  secretary  of  Amal- 
gamated Press,  297 

Angell,  Norman,  see  "  Lane, 
Ralph  " 

Annie  Swaii's  Magazine,  290 

Annunciator  machine,  178 

Answers,  origin  and  growth  of, 
291-2;    how   it   handles   fiction, 

295 

Archer,  William,  contributor  to 
Westminster  Gazette,   100 

Arkell,  Reginald,  assistant  art 
editor  of  London  Opinion,  272 

Armstrong,  Sir  George,  at  the 
Globe,  98 ;  helps  start  the 
People,   150 

Armstrong,  G.  G.,  editor  of  North- 
ern edition  of  Daily  News,  50 ; 
formerly  of  Tillotson's  News- 
paper Literature  Bureau,  190 

Arnold,  Sir  Edwin,  39,  40 

Arnold,  W.  T.,  contributor  to  Man- 
chester Guardian,  212 

Arnott,  Sir  John,  of  Irish  Times, 
205 

Arnott,  Sir  John  {secundus),  of 
Irish  Times,  205 


342 


Index 


343 


Arnott,  Major  Loftus  P.,  of  Irish 
Times,  205 

Ashton,  Harold,  of  Daily  Mail,  iSo 

Aspden,  Hartley,  of  the  Amal- 
gamated Press,  294 

Asquith,  Mr.,  at  golf,  186 

Astor,  Hon.  Waldorf,  M.P.,  owner 
of  Observer,  127 

Astor,  Lord,  acquires  Pall  Mall 
Gazette,  107 ;  acquires  Ob- 
server, 127 

Athenaum,  262-3 

Athletic  News,  92 

Atkins,  J.  B.,  of  Manchester  Guar- 
dian, 212 

Auckland    and    County    Chronicle, 

215 
Austin,    John    C,    of    Weekly    Dis- 

■patch,  144 
Austin,   L.    F.,   once  leader   writer 

on    Eastern    Daily   Press,    194 ; 

"  Notebooker "     of     Illustrated 

London  News,  239 

Back,  Mr.,  editor  of  Amalgamated 
Press's  boys'  papers,  296 

Bailey,  W.  T.,  of  Sheffield  Inde- 
pendent, 216 

Baily,  Herbert,  founder  of  Con- 
noisseur, 274 

Baily,  T.  Canning,  editor  of 
Western  Morning  News,  232 

Baily,  T.  Livingstone,  of  Connois- 
seur,  274 

Baines,  Edward,  editor  of  Leeds 
Mercury,  206 

Baines,  H.  R.  &  Co.,  publishers  of 
Graphic,  etc.,  247 

Baird,  Robert  H.  H.,  J. P.,  mana- 
ger of  Belfast  Evening  Tele- 
graph and  allied  papers,  187 

Bairnsfather,  Captain  Bruce,  his 
war     pictures     in     Bystander, 

254 
Baker,  Charles,  proprietor  of  News- 
paper World,  333-4 
Baker,  Max,  of  Field,  261 
Balch,    Mr.,    president    of    Sphinx 

Club,  335 
Ballantyne,     W.     S.,     of     Glasgow 

Evening  News,   199 
Ballymena  Weekly  Telegraph,   187 
Bank  notes,  paper  for,  326 ;  design 
for,   326-7;   printing  of,   327-8; 
checking  of,  328 


Bannister,  T.,  of  Hulton's,  93 

Barker,  E.  C,  of  Exchange  Tele- 
graph Company,  17S 

Barnb}',  Sir  Joseph,  contributor  to 
Guardian,  312 

Barnett,  Charles  A.,  editor  of  Car- 
diff  Evening  Express,  226 

Barr,  Amelia  E.,  contributor  to 
Sunday  School  Chronicle,  317 

Barran,  Oswald,  of  Evening  News, 
66 

Barrie,  Sir  James,  contributor  to 
St.  Jatnes^s  Gazette,  103 ;  once 
with  Nottingham  Daily  Ex- 
press, 217;  "Little  Minister," 
280;  in  British  Weekly,  303 

Bartholomew,  H.  G.,  director  and 
art  editor  of  Daily  Mirror,  82 

Bartley,  A.  E.,  publisher  of  Cas- 
sell's,  279 

Basford,  W.  J.,  of  Leicester  Daily 
Post,  206 

Bathgate,  J.  M.,  director  of  Pear- 
son's, 298,  299,  300 

Bathurst,  Countess,  and  the  Morn- 
ing Post,  33 

Bathurst,  Hon.  Lancelot,  manager 
of  Morning  Post,  34 ;  owner  of 
Land  and  Water,  266 

Batty-Smith,  Mr.,  editor  of  Sports- 
man,  125 

Bayes,  Walter,  associated  with 
Athenceinn,  263 

Baynes,  Philip,  of  Bystander, 
killed  in  action,  255 

Bazaar,  Exchange  and  Mart,  268- 
70 

Beattie,  C.  L,  assistant  editor  and 
director  of  Daily  Mail,  61 

Beaumont,  Comyns,  first  editor  of 
Bystander,  254;  editor  of  Pass- 
ing Show,  274 

Beaverbrook,  Lord,  at  the  Globe,  96 

Beckett,  William,  M.P.,  first  chair- 
man of  Yorkshire  Post,  235  ' 

Beer,  G.  E.,  news  editor  of  The 
Times,  180 

Beer,  Mrs.  Rachel,  editor  of  Sun- 
day Times,   131 

Begbie,  Harold,  contributor  to 
Globe,  98 

Belcher,  George,  his  drawings  in 
Tatler,  256 

Belfast   Evening   Telegraph,    186-8 

Belfast  Weekly  Telegraph,  187 


344 


Index 


Bell,  Adolphus,  part  owner  of  Neivs 
of  the  World,   135 

Bell,  F.   E.,  of  Daily  Graf  hie,  253 

BeU,  John  Browne,  founder  of 
Neivs  of  the  World,  134,   135 

Bell,  J.  Hyslop,  J. P.,  founder  of 
Northern  Echo,  214 

BeU,  Moberly,  on  the  old  Times 
staff,  4-5  ;  his  earlier  association 
with  The  Times,  18;  efforts  to 
galvanise  The  Times,   30-31 

Bell,  Robert,  of  Observer,  128 

Bell,  W.  J.,  part  owner  of  News  of 
the  World,  135 

Belloc,  Hilaire,  his  military  articles 
for  Daily  News,  55  ;  contribu- 
tor to  Sunday  Herald,  go ;  con- 
tributor   to    Land   and    Water, 

BelV s  Life  in  London  incorporated 
with  S  for  ting  Life,  121  ;  on  its 
own,    124 

BelVs  New  Weekly  Messenger,   134 

Benham,  R.,  City  editor  of  Daily 
News,  56 

Bennett,  James  Gordon,  of  New 
Yorli  Herald,  318-9 

Bennett,  R.  A.,  editor  of  Trtith, 
formerly  of  Star,   112,  258 

Benson,  A.  C,  contributor  to 
Church  Family  Newsfafer,  308 

Benson,  Mr.,  founder  of  Sheffield 
Daily  Telegrafh,  219 

Bentinck,  Lord  George,  founds 
Nottingham  Guardian,  217 

Beresford,  Lord  Charles,  a  friendly 
lift  to  the  Central  News,  170 

Bernard,  Prof.,  one  of  the  founders 
of  Guardian,  311 

Berrey,  R.  Power,  of  News  of  the 
World,  140 

Berry,  H.  Seymour,  associated 
with  Lord  Rhondda,   129 

Berry,  J.  Gomer,  starts  Advertis- 
ing World,  129,  336;  acquires 
Sunday  Times,  130 

Berry,  J.  M.,  M.P.,  alderman  of 
Merthyr,    129 

Berry,  W.  E.,  starts  Advertising 
World,  129,  336;  acquires  Sun- 
day Times,   130 

Berry,  W.  Grinton,  editor  of  Sun- 
day at  Home,  314 

Bettany,  Arthur,  London  manager 
of     Glasgozu     Evening     News, 


200;      of      Western      Morning 

News,  233 
Bicycling  News,  337 
Binns,     Mr.,    editor    of    Yorkshire 

Observer,  234 
Binns,  R.  W.,  of  Hull  Daily  Mail, 

204 
Birmingham   Desfatch,  215 
Birmi7igham  Daily  Mail,  189 
Birmingham  Daily  Post,   188-9 
Birmingham   Gazette,  215,  216 
Bir?)titigham     Ulustrated    Mercury, 

215 

Birmi7igham  Journal,  188 

Birnage,      F.,      of      Amalgamated 

Press,  296 
Blachford,  Lord,  one  of  the  founders 

of  Guardian,  311 
Black     and     White      acquired     by 

Sfhere,  243 
Black,    Rev.    Hugh,    contributor   to 

Sunday  School   Chronicle,   317 
Blackwood,    Algernon,    contributor 

to  W estminster  Gazette,   loi 
Blackwood,      William,      editor      of 

Answers,  296 
Blanch,  J.  M.,  of  Pall  Mall  Gazette, 

108 ;    commercial     manager     of 

Observer,   129 
Blatchford,  R.,  contributor  to  Sun- 
day Herald,  90 
Blumenfeld,  R.  D.,  editor  of  Daily 

Exfress,   76 
Blumenfeld,    junr.,    Mr.,    of    Daily 

Exfress,  78 
Blyton,  W.  J.,  of  Hiill  Daily  Mail. 

204 
Bolton  Evening  News,   190 
Bonwick,    Alfred    J.,    manager    of 

Nation,  265 
Book7nan,  304 
Booth,  T.,  of  Sheffield  Indefendent, 

216 
"  Boris"  of  Referee,  14S 
Borthwick,  Oliver,  of  the  Morning 

Post,  35-6 
Bottomley,    Horatio,    and   the   Sun, 

94 ;  editor  of  John  Bull,  273 
Bouverie    Street,    the    old    and    the 

new  Daily  News  buildings,  48 ; 

newspaper  offices   in,    140 
Bowden,    James,    manager    of    Re- 
ligious Tract   Society,  315 
Bown,  Maud,  editor  of  Home  Chat, 

296 


Index 


345 


Boy^s  Own  Pafer,  story  about  its 
starting,  313-4 

Bradbury,  Henry,  co-founder  of 
Bradbury,  Wilkinson  &  Co.,  329 

Bradbury,  Wilkinson  &  Co.,  manu- 
facturers of  bank  notes,  326-30 

Bray,  Mr.,  of  Central  News,  Lon- 
don correspondent  of  East 
Anglian  Daily  Times,  195 

Brebner,  J.  J.,  ot  Weekly  Disfatch, 
144 

Brew.eter.  W^  T.,  of  Independent 
Newspapers,   Limited,   204 

Bridgewater,  Frank  F.,  managing 
director  of  Financial  Times, 
118 

Bridgewater,  F.  'M.,  chairman  of 
Financial  Titties,  117;  on  the 
policy  of  the  paper,  118 

Brisbane,  Arthur,  best-paid  jour- 
nalist in  the  world,  320 

Bristol  Evening  Times  and  Echo, 
190 

Bristol  Times  and  Mirror,   191 

British  Association  of  Trade  and 
Technical  Journals,  337 

British  Medical  Joiirtial,  331 

British  Weekly,  302-4 

Brittain,  Harry,  organiser  of  Im- 
perial Press  Conference,  181  ; 
author  of  "To  Verdun  from  the 
Somme,"   182 

Brodie,  J.  J.,  of  Glasgow  Evening 
News,   199 

Brooke,  Douglas,  assistant  editor 
of  Guardian,  312 

Brooke,  Rupert,  contributor  to 
W estminsler  Gazette,   loi 

Brookfield,  Sydney  F.,  of  Rejeree, 
killed  in  action,  147 

Broomfield,  W.  E.,  manager  of 
Sporting  Life,  122,   123 

Brown,  George  Douglas,  contribu- 
tor to  Sunday  School  Chron- 
icle, 317 

Brown,  Morley,  editor  of  Sforting 
Life,  122 

Brown,  T.,  formerly  with  Worces- 
tershire Echo,  235 

Bruce,  John,  manager  of  Aberdeen 
Free  Press,  181; 

Bruce,  Robert,  editor  of  Glasgow 
Herald,  202 

Bruce,  Robert,  of  Aberdeen  Free 
Press,  185 


Buckle,  G.  E.,  contributor  to 
Guardiati,   312 

Bulla,  his   war   photos,   244 

Bulletin  (of  Glasgow),  203 

Bulloch,  J.  M.,  assistant  editor  of 
Sketch,  242  ;  editor  of  Graphic, 
249 ;  career  of,  249 

Burchill,  Alfred,  of  Liverpool 
Courier,  208 

Burgess,  R.  C,  City  editor  of 
Financial  Times,   116 

Burleigh,  Bennet,  a  great  war 
correspondent,  42 ;  his  bril- 
liant work  for  the  Central 
News,  168 

Burnaby's,  Colonel  Fred,  "Ride 
to  Khiva,"  282 

Burnham,  the  first  Lord,  his  re- 
markable qualities,  41  ;  his 
knack  of  discovering  the  right 
men,  42 ;  his  philanthropic 
funds,  44;  his  association  with 
Sutiday  Times,  130 

Burnham,  the  second  Lord,  his 
personality,  40 ;  opinion  of  his 
father,  41  ;  what  he  deems  the 
Daily  Telegraph'' s  greatest  feat 
in  this  century,  44 ;  a  query 
to,  45 

Burrow,  J.  A.,  of  Nottitigham 
Guardian,  219 

Burton,  Claude,  of  Evetiing  News, 
66 

Burton,  Pomeroy,  of  Daily  Mail,  60 

Butler,  Richard,  editor  of  Referee, 
144.   146 

Bystander,  254 

Cable,  Boyd,  in  Westminster 
Gazette,  101 

Cadbury,  Edward,  chairman  of 
directorate  of  Daily  News,  51 

Cadbury,  George,  of  the  Daily 
News,  51 

Cadbury,  H.  T.,  director  of  the 
Daily  News,  49 

Caine,  Hall,  formerly  with  Liver- 
pool Mercury,  210 

Caird,  Andrew,  of  Daily  Mail,  60 

Caird,  William,  of  Weekly  Dis- 
patch, 144 

Caldecott,  Randolph,  contributor  to 
Graphic,  248 

Cambria  Daily  Leader,   192 

Campbell, A., of  Sunday  Pictorial,  84 


346 


Index 


Campbell,  Rev.  R.  J.,  contributor 
to  Sunday  Herald,  go 

Campbell-Bannerman,  Sir  Henry, 
his  article  in  the  Nation,  265 

Cantle,  G.  H.,  of  Amalgamated 
Press,   296 

■Capon,  P.  F.,  of  Financial  Times, 
116 

"  Carados  "  of  Referee,   147 

Cardiff  Times,  222 

Carlyle,  James,  of  Irish  Times,  205 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  associated  with 
AthencEum,  263 

Carolus-Duran,  E.  A.,  contributor 
to  Graphic,  248 

Carr,  Emsley,  editor  of  News  of 
the  World,  138-9;  director 
and  London  correspondent  of 
Western  Mail,  225 ;  director 
of  George  Newnes,  Limited, 
290 

Carr,  J.  Comyns,  contributor  to 
Globe,  98  ;  contributor  to  Man- 
chester Guardian,  213 

Carr,  Lascelles,  part-owner  of 
News  of  the  World,  135;  and 
dry-paper  printing,   138 

Carter,  Vivian,  editor  of  By- 
stander, 254 

Cassell  and  Company,  sketch  of, 
276-84 ;  Arthur  Spurgeon  ap- 
pointed general  manager,  276 ; 
chief  periodicals  of,  277 ; 
directorate  of,  278 ;  some  de- 
partmental managers,  278-9 ; 
great  literary  and  book  "hits," 
279-82  ;  their  start  of  the  Echo, 
282  ;  modern  magazine  develop- 
ments, 283;  printing  depart- 
ment, 283 ;  popularity  of 
general  manager,   283-4 

CasseWs  Magazine  of  Fiction,  277 

CasseWs  Saturday  Journal,  277 

Casson,  Herbert  N.,  editor  of 
Efficiency  Magazine,  332 

Castle,  Egerton,  director  of  Liver- 
fool  Mercury  and  Post  and 
allied  papers,  211 

Catling,  Thomas,  editor  of  Lloyd's 
News,  72 

Catto,  A.,  of  Aberdeen  Journal,  186 

Caxton  Publishing  Company,  340 

Central  News  (C.N.),  sketch  of, 
168-74;  some  of  its  "  exclu- 
sives"  and  other  hits,   169-72; 


Press      photo      branch,       172; 

foreign  offices,  173 
Central  News  of  America,  173 
Chapman,  William,  of  Independent 

Newspapers,    Limited,  204 
Charlton,  Randal,  of  Daily  Mirror, 

83 
Chase,    Samuel,   of  Morgan,   Chase 

&  Scott,  304 

Chatterton,  Thomas,  contributor  to 
Bristol  Times  atid  Mirror,   191 

Chesterton,  Cecil,  of  Nezv  Witness, 
267 

Chesterton,  G.  K.,  contributions  to 
Daily  News,  55 ;  writes  for 
Sunday  Herald,  90;  "Note- 
booker  "  of  Illustrated  London 
News,  239 ;  editor  of  New  Wit- 
ness, 267 

Chesterton,  L.  H.,  of  Liverpool 
Courier,  208 

Children'' s  E^icyclofcedia,   295 

Chishokn,  W.  W.,  editor  of  Shef- 
field Independent,  216 

Christian,  304-6 

Christian,  Bertram,  an  old  Star 
man,   11 

Christian   World,  306 


Christopherson, 


of    Exchange 


Telegraph  Company,  178 

Chubb,  Sir  George  Hayter,  direc- 
tor of  Methodist  Recorder,  313 

Chubb,  John,  one  of  first  directors 
of  Methodist  Recorder,  312 

Chums,  2-jj 

Church,  Dean,  one  of  the  founders 
of   Guardian,  311 

Church  census  undertaken  by 
Daily  Neivs,  55 

Church  Family  News-paper,  307 

Church  Times,  308 

Clark,  Christopher,  artist  of 
Sphere,  246 

Clark,  James,  his  picture  of  "The 
Great  Sacrifice  "  {Graphic),  249 

Clarke,  Benjamin,  first  editor  of 
Sunday  School  Chronicle,  315 

Clarke,  Herbert,  editor  of  Chris- 
tian World,  307 

Clarke,  H.  W.,  secretary  of  United 
Newspapers,  Limited,  75 

Clarke,  James,  reorganises  Chris- 
tian World,  306,  307 

Clarke,  L.,  of  Amalgamated  Press, 
296 


Inde 


X 


347 


"Claudius      Clear"      of      British 

Weekly,  302 
Clemenceau,      M.,      of      V  Homme 
Enchaine,  322 

Clements,    S.    Carey,    secretary    of 

Reuter's,   164 
Clerkenwell  News,  71 

Clifford,  Major  Arthur,  of  She-ffield 
Telegra-ph,  221 

Clifford,  Charles,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel,  of  Sheffield  Telegraph, 
221 

Clifford,  Major  Eric,  of  Sheffield 
Telegra-ph,  221 

Clifford,  Frederick,  co-proprietor 
of  Sheffield  Daily  Telegraph, 
219,  220 

Clifford,  Rev.  Dr.  John,  contribu- 
tor to  Christian  World,  307 

Cobbett,  Martin,  "  Geraint "  of 
Referee,  146,   147 

Coe,  Captain,  of  Sportsman,  125 

Cole,  Horace,  of  George  Newnes, 
Limited,  289 

Cole,  Rev.  Richard,  of  Belfast 
Evening  Telegraph,  188 

Collins,  Mortimer,  contributor  to 
Globe,  98 

Collins,  Wilkie,  contributor  to 
People,  152 

Colman,  J.  J.,  M.P.,  g 

Colquhoun,  W.  K.,  assistant  editor 
of  Graphic,  250 

Colsey,  T.,  of  Truth,  235 

Connoisseur,   274 

Conway,  Hugh,  contributor  to 
Bristol  Times  and  Mirror,   191 

Cook,  Sir  E.  T.,  editor  of  the 
Daily  News,  47 ;  head  of  the 
Press  Bureau,  47 ;  editor  of 
Westminster  Gazette,  qc)  ;  editor 
of  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  106 

Cook,  Sir  Theodore,  editor  of 
Field,  261 

Cooke,  Sir  Clement  Kinloch, 
of  Western  Morning  News,  231 

Cooper,  Charles  Alfred,  editor  of 
Scotsman,   197 

Cooper,  H.  L.,  editor  of  Yorkshire 
Telegraph  and  Star,  221 

Coram,  Sidney  G.,  of  Westminster 
Gazette,  102 

Corbett,  Howard,  manager  of  The 
Times,  24 ;  formerly  manager 
of  Cambria  Daily  Leader,  192 


Corlett,    John,   formerly   of   Sport s- 

ma7i,   125;  afterwards  owner  of 

Sporting  Times,   125 
Costello,      B.      F,     C,      of     Daily 

Chronicle,  71 
Cotton,   M.    F.,   Captain,   editor  of 

Weekly     Dispatch,     killed     in 

action,  142 
Country  Life,  288 
Courlander,     Alphonse,     of     Daily 

Express,  323 
Courtney,  W.  L.,  literary  editor  of 

the  Daily  Telegraph,  42 
Coutts,   James   A.   C,   manager   of 

Aberdeen  Journal,  186 
Cowen,     Jane,     director    of    North 

Mail  and  Newcastle  Chronicle, 

214 
Cowen,    Colonel     Joseph,     acquires 

North  Mail,  214 
Cox,    Edward   W.,    serjeant-at-law, 

projector      of      Bazaar,     Field, 

Queen,  etc.,  268 
Cox,   Harold,   contributor  to  Daily 

Graphic,  252 
Cox,    Horace,    of   Windsor    House, 

London,  262 
Cozens-Hardy,      Archibald,     editor 

of  Eastern  Daily  Press,  193 
Cozens-Hardy,     H.,    of    the    Daily 

News,  55,  56;  Paris  correspon- 
dent  of   Mor7iing  Leader,  323 ; 

at  San  Francisco,  324 
Crafter,     Mr.,     of     Neivs     of     the 

World,  140 
Cranfield,  W.  T.  ("  Denis  Crane  "), 

of  Methodist  Recorder,  313 
Crawford,      Mrs.,      contributor      to 

Truth,  258 
Cree,    E.    R.,    of    Belfast    Evening 

Telegraph,  188 
Croal,   D.    O.,   of  Financial  News, 

120 
Croal,  J.  P.,  editor  of  Scotsman,  197 
Croft,   Ernest,   manager  and  secre- 
tary of  Western  Morning  News 

and  allied  papers,  232 
Crome,   D.   E.,  of  the  Daily  News, 

57 

Crosfield,  B.  F.,  director  of  the 
Daily  News,  50 

Cunnison,  J.  D.,  of  Dundee  Adver- 
tiser, 192 

Curnock,  Rev.  N.,  editor  of 
Methodist  Recorder,  313 


348 


Index 


Curtis,  T.  G.,  secretary  of  the 
Daily  News  Company,  49 

Cust,  Henry,  editor  of  Pall  Mall 
Gazette,  107 

Dadd,  Philip,  late,  artist  of 
Sphere,  246 

"Dagonet"  of  Referee,  148 

Daily  Chronicle,  origin  of,  70-1 ; 
some  of  its  editors,  71  ; 
its  greatest  hits,  71-2;  its 
special  pictures,  71  ;  its  ex- 
ploration news,  72;  ideal  office 
of,  74 ;  some  of  its  staff,  75 

Daily  Courier,  founded  by  Sir 
George  Newnes,  102 

Daily  Express,  sketch  of,  76-8;  in- 
novations due  to,  76 ;  its  editor 
and  staff,  76-7;  projects  in  the 
air,  78 

Daily  Graphic,  founded,  247 ; 
sketch  of,  251-3 

Daily  Mail,  sketch  of,  59-62; 
initial  capital  of,  59;  Lord 
Northcliffe's  control  of,  59-60; 
chief  managers  of,  60-1  ;  Man- 
chester edition  of,  61 ;  Con- 
tinental edition  of,  61 ;  the 
strenuous  "note"  of,  61 

Daily  Mirror,  original  character 
of,  79 ;  reconstructed  by  Lord 
Northcliffe,  79;  bought  by 
Lord  Rothermere,  80;  some  of 
its  hits,  81-2;  members  of  its 
staff,  82-3 

Daily  News,  sketch  of,  46-58 ; 
characteristics  of,  46-7 ;  some 
editors  of,  47;  amalgamation 
with  Morning  Leader,  47-9 ; 
Northern  edition  of,  49-50; 
policy  and  achievements  of, 
52-5 ;  famous  writers  on,  55 ; 
members  of  staff  of,  55-7  ;  Pud- 
ding Fund  for  soldiers,  56 ; 
Dickens's  prospectus  of,  58; 
the  directorate  of,  58 

Daily  Paper  (Mr.  Stead's),  3 

Daily  Sketch,  founded  in  Manches- 
ter, 86 ;  London  office  of,  87 ; 
features  and  hits  of,  88-9 

Daily  Telegraph,  described  by 
Lord  Northcliffe,  29 ;  sketch  of, 
39-45  ;  handsome  office  of,  39 ; 
original  contents  bill,   40;   the 


first  and  second  Lord  Burn- 
ham,  40-1 ;  some  of  its  great 
journalists,  42-3;  its  notable 
Funds,  44 ;  its  interview  with 
the  Kaiser,  44;  its  prosperity, 

44 

Dalziel,  Davison,  M.P.,  acquires 
the  Standard  and  Evening 
Standard,  105 ;  acquires  Pall 
Mall  Gazette,   108 

Dalziel,  Sir  Henry,  M.P.,  acquires 
Pall  Mall  Gazette,  109 ;  in  con- 
trol of  Reynolds^ s,  155 

"  Damot,"  a  typical  Star  bill,  no 

Darcus,  Charles,  of  Belfast  Even- 
ing Telegraph,  188 

Dark,  Sidney,  of  Daily  Express,  77 

Davidson,  J.  Morrison,  of  Rey- 
nolds''s,    155 

Davies,  David,  editor  of  South 
Wales  Daily  Post,  224 

Davies,  R.  D.,  formerly  of  Bristol 
Titnes  and  Mirror,   191 

Davies,  William,  editor  of  Western 
Mail,  225 

Davis,  G.  H.,  artist  of  Sphere,  246 

Davis,  Israel,  director  of  H.  R. 
Baines  &  Co.,  247 

Davison,  Rev.  Dr.,  editor  and, 
later,  director  of  Methodist 
Recorder,  313 

Dawbarn,  Charles,  of  The  Times 
Paris  staff,   181 

Dawson,  H.  A.,  of  George  Newnes, 
Limited,  289 

Day,  Dr.  E.  Hermitage,  editor  of 
Church  Times,  309 

De  Blowitz,  M.,  of  The  Times,  23 

Delane,  J.  T.,  of  The  Times,  self- 
confidence  of,  23 

De  Morgan,  Augustus,  associated 
with  AthencEiini,  263 

Denney,  Rev.  Dr.,  contributor  to 
Sunday  School   Chronicle,   317 

Dennis,   Robert,  of  Daily  Express, 

Derbyshire   Courier,  215 

De  Rougemont  exposed  by  Daily 
Chronicle,  71,   72 

Derry,  John,  editor  of  Notting- 
ham Daily  Express,  217 

Dewsbury  Chronicle,  334 

Dewsbury  Reporter,  334 

Diack,  William,  of  Aberdeen  Free 
Press,  185 


Index 


349 


Dibblee,  C.  Binny,  general  mana- 
ger of  Field  and  Queen,  262 

Dick,  H.  H.,  of  Financial  News, 
121 

Dick,  J.   M.,  of  Evening  News,  66 

Dickens,  Charles,  friend  of  the 
first  Lord  Burnham,  40 ; 
founder  of  the  Daily  Nejvs, 
47 ;   his  prospectus,    58 

Dickinson.  A.  Lowes,  director  of 
Bradbury,    Wilkinson    &    Co., 

32g 

Dickinson,  F.  W.,  chief  editor  of 
Reuter's,    162-3 

Dicksee,  P'rancis,  R.A.,  contribu- 
tor to  Graphic,  248 

Digby,  William,  editor  of  Western 
Daily  Mercury,  227 

Dilke,  Ashton,  owner  of  Weekly 
Dis-patch  and  Referee,  145 

Dilke,  Charles  'Wentworth,  of 
Athenatim,  262 

Dilke,  Sir  Charles  W.,  M.P.,  of 
Athenceum,  26^ 

Disraeli,  B.,  first  subscriber  to 
Church  Times,  309 

Dixon,  R.  L.,  Parliamentary  corre- 
spondent of  Yorkshire  Post,  236 

Dobson,  Austin,  associated  with 
Athenceum,  263 

Docker,  Dudley,  and  the  Globe,  97 

Dodds,  J.,  of  Hulton's,  93 

Dods,  Marcus,  Principal,  contri- 
butor to  British  Weekly,  303 

Doman,  W.  A.,  of  Financial  News, 
121 

Donald,  Robert,  an  old  Star  man, 
10,  112;  his  career,  68-70; 
managing  director  of  the 
United  Newspapers,  Limited, 
70 ;  controller  of  the  Daily 
Chronicle  and  Lloyd'' s  News, 
70 ;  reforms,  74 

Donohoe,  M.  M.,  of  Daily  Chron- 
icle,  71  ;    Paris  correspondent, 

323 

Douglas,  James,  assistant-editor  of 
Star,  112-3;  contributor  to 
London  Opinion,  273 

Doyle,  Sir  Arthur  Conan,  war 
correspondent  in  Sudan  for 
Westminster   Gazette,   loi 

Drapers'"  Record,  331 

Drydcn,  Vaughan,  at  the  Globe,  tfi 

Dry-paper  printing,   138 


Dublin  Evening  Herald,  204 
Dublin  Saturday  Herald,  204 
Duguid,      C,      City     editor     and 

director  of  Daily  Mail,  61 
Duke,    H.    E.,    K.C.,    formerly    ot 

Western  Morning  News,  231 
Dunbar,  R.  H.,  editor  of  Shepfield 

Daily  Telegraph,  221 
Duncan,       Alexander,      of      South 

Wales  Daily  News,  222 
Duncan,    David,    the  late,   founder 

of  Cardiff  Times,  222 
Duncan,    David,    of    South    Wales 

Daily  News  and  allied  papers, 

222 
Duncan,  Sir  John,  of  South  Wales 

Daily  News  and  allied  papers, 

222 
Duncan,  John,  artist  of  Sphere,  246 
Dundee  Advertiser,  192 
Dunn,  James,  of  Hulton's,  234 
Dunn,    James    Nicol,    35;    London 

editor     of     Glasgow     Evening 

News,  200 
Dupuy,  Jean,  of  Le  Petit  Parisien, 

322 

East  Anglian  Daily  Times,  194-5 

Easterbrook,  G.  E.,  of  Western 
Daily  Mercury,  229 

Eastern  Daily  Press,  193 

Ebbutt,  W.  A.,  of  Daily  News,  56 

Echo,  founded  by  Cassell,  Petter 
&  Galpin^  259;  story  of  its 
start,  282 

Echo  de  Paris,  L\  321 

Economist,   u6 

Edgar,  George,  of  News  of  the 
World,  137;  of  Advertiser'' s 
Weekly,  336 

Edinburgh  Evening   Dispatch,    198 

Edison,  T.  A.,  his  type-printing 
telegraph  machine,   175 

Educational  Book  Company,  296 

Edwards,  A.  Lloyd,  of  Notting- 
ham Daily  Express,  217 

Edwards,  George  Spencer,  ori- 
ginal   "  Carados  "    of    Referee, 

147 

Edwards,  Hamilton,  of  the  Amal- 
gamated   Press,   293-4 

Efficiency  Magazine,  332 

Electrician,  331 

Elias,  J.  S.,  managing  director  of 
Odhams,  273-4 


350 


Index 


Eliot,  George,  contributor  to  Pall 
Mall  Gazette,   io8 

Elkington,  Bertrand,  of  East 
Anglian  Daily  Times,   194 

Elkington,  T.  R.,  of  East  Anglian 
Daily  Times,  194 

Ellis,  Anthony,  formerly  dramatic 
critic  of  Star,   181 

Emmanuel,  Philip,  advertising 
manager  of  Odhams,  274 

Engineering,  331 

Escott,  T.  H.  S.,  contributor  to 
Globe,  98 

Eucalyptus,  a  corner  in,  299 

Evans,  Caradoc,  editor  of  Ideas,  92 

Evans,  Dr.  Sebastian,  of  Birming- 
ham  Gazette,  218 

Evans,  W.  J.,  of  the  Daily  Mail, 
60 ;  editor  of  the  Southern 
Daily  Mail,  64;  editor  of 
Evening  News,  66 ;  an  old  Star 
man,   112 

"Eve"  drawings  in  Tatler,  256 

Evening  Ex-press  (Cardiff),  225,  226 

Evening  Journal,  320 

Evening  Mail,  28 

Evening  News,  sketch  of,  62-7 ;  in 
low  water,  63 ;  acquired  by 
Lord  Northcliffe,  Lord  Rother- 
mere  and  Kennedy  Jones,  64; 
staff  of,  66 ;  enterprise  of,  66 ; 
bills  and  rival  bills,  66-7 

Evening  Standard,  early  reputa- 
tion of,  103 ;  first  editor  of, 
103;  acquired  by  Sir  Arthur 
Pearson,  103 ;  absorbs  the  St. 
Jameses  Gazette,  103 ;  changes, 
105 ;  members  of  its  staff,   105 

Evening  Times,  143 

Everett,  P.  W.,  editor  and  director 
of  Pearson's,  299,  300 

Everywoman,  273 

Exchange  and  Mart,   268-70 

Exchange  Telegraph  Company, 
sketch  of,  174-8;  its  methods  of 
operation,   175-7 

Eye   Witness,   267 

Eynon,  Sidney  W.,  manager  of  the 
Educational  Book  Company, 
297 

FaBER,  Lord,  chairman  of  York- 
shire Post,  236 

Falk,  Bernard,  of  Weekly  Dis- 
patch, 143 


Farmer,  A.  Douglas,  general 
manager  of  Land  and  Water, 
268 

Farquhar,  George,  of  Glasgow 
Evening  News,   199 

Farrar,  Dean,  contributor  to  Chris- 
tian World,  307 

Farthing,  F.  H.,  of  Daily  Express, 

77 

Fearon,  Percy  ("Poy"),  cartoonist 
of  Daily  Sketch,  89 

Feeny,  John,  of  Birmingham  Daily 
Post,   189 

Feeny,  John  Frederick,  of  Bir- 
mingham Journal,  afterwards 
Post,  188 

Fergusson,  John,  editor  of  Ply- 
mouth  Weekly  Mercury,   229 

Field,  260-2 

Field,  Cyrus,  founder  of  Exchange 
Telegraph  Company,   175 

Field,  Eric,  formerly  with  Prin- 
ters^ Ink,  336 

Fifoot,  Captain,  D.S.O.,  of  Lloyd's 
paper  miUs,   140 

Fifoot,  Edgar,  business  manager 
of  News  of  the  World,  139 

Fildes,  Sir  Luke,  R.A.,  contributor 
to  Graphic,  248 

Financial  News,  1 19-21 

Financial  Times,  sketch  of,   116-9 

Financier,   116 

Findlay,  D.  J.,  director  of  Morgan 
&  Scott,  306 

Firth,  J.  B.,  formerly  with  Not- 
tingham Daily  Express,  217 

Fish,  Miss,  her  "Eve"  drawings 
in  Tatler,  256 

Fisher,  H.  Val,  of  Advertising 
World,  237 

Fisher,  W.  J.,  of  Daily  Chronicle, 

71 

Fishing  News,   185 

Fleet  Street,  passim 

Fleetway  House,  291 

Fletcher,    A.    E.,    editor    of    Daily 

Chronicle,  71 
Fletcher,    Jessica,   of   Daily   News, 

71 

Flower,    Newman,    chief   editor    of 

Cassell's,  279 
Flynn,  E.,  of  Daily  Mirror,  82 
Football  Field,  190 
Football  Post,  217 
Forbes,  Archibald,  54 


Index 


351 


Forget-me-not,  294 

Forman,     J.     T.,     of     Nottingham 

Guardian,  21S 
Forman,    Thomas,    of    Nottingham 

Guardian,  217 
Foster,  E.,  at  the  Globe,  97 
Foster,   Nevile,   managing  director 

of  Land  and  Water,  266 
Fourth  Estate,  of  New  York,  333 
Fox,    Samuel    C,    of    South    Wales 

Daily  News,  223 
Foxon,     George     T.,     director     of 

Bradbury,    Wilkinson    &    Co., 

329 
Francis,  John,  publisher  of  Athen- 

aum,  262 
Francis,  John  Collins,  publisher  of 

Athenceum,  262 
Francis,  John  Edward,  manager  of 

Athenceum,  263 
Eraser,    Galloway,    editor    of    Tit- 

Biis,  287 
Eraser,  John  Foster,  formerly  with 

Nottingham      Daily      Exfress, 

217 

Freeman,     E.     A.,    contributor    to 

Guardian,  312 
French       Press,       321-4;       notable 

French  journalists,  321-2 
Fretwell,    J.    J.,   late,    of    Yorkshire 

Post  (London  ofl&ce),  237 
Friend,  309 

Frost,  H.  F.,  of  Referee,  147 
Furness,      Lord,      acquires     North 

Mail,      213;      associated      with 

Northern  Echo,  214 

"Galahad"  of  Referee,  147 

GalignanV s  Messenger,  now  Paris 
Messenger,  324 

Gallard,  J.  L.,  of  Financial  Tiynes, 
116 

Gandy,  Wallace,  of  Advertiser'' s 
Weekly,  336 

Gardiner,  A.  G.,  editor  of  Daily 
News,  personality  of,  51  ;  his 
Saturday  articles,  51  ;  some  of 
his  reminiscences,  52-5 

"  Gareth  "  of  Referee,   ia,i 

Garrish,  H.  G.,  of  Amalgamated 
Press,  296 

Garrish,  J.  T.,  of  Nottingham 
Evening  Post,  218 

Garvice,  Charles,  writes  for  West- 
minster Gazette,   loi 


Garvin,  J.  L.,  on  the  staff  of  the 
Daily  Telegrafh,  43 ;  editor  of 
Pall  Mall  Gazette,  107;  editor 
of  Observer,   127-8 

Geard,  Reginald,  formerly  City 
editor  of  Star,   112 

Geddie,  Falconer,  of  Glasgow 
Evening  News,  200 

Gennings,  John,  manager  of  the 
Central  News,  169;  how  he 
gets  exclusives,   171 

"Geraint"  of  Referee,   147 

Gibbon,  Perceval,  contributor  to 
Westminster  Gazette,  loi 

Gibbs,  Philip,  war  correspondent, 
190 

Gibbs,  W.  G.,  editor  of  Leicester 
Daily  Post,  206 

Giffard,  Stanley  Lees,  first  editor 
of  Evening  Standard,  103 

Gill,  Crandon,  with  Bazaar,  Ex- 
change and  Mart,  270 

Gill,  Miss  R.  C,  with  Bazaar,  Ex- 
change  and  Mart,  270 

Gill,  T.  P.,  of  Aberdeen  Free 
Press,   185 

Gill,  Upcott,  owner  of  Bazaar,  Ex- 
change and  Mart,  268,  270 

Giknour,  S.  C,  of  Field,  262 

Gilpin,  Charles,  M.P.,  publisher 
of  Friend,  310 

GirVs  Own  Paper,  314;  and 
Woman  Magazine,  314 

GirVs  Realm,  amalgamated  with 
Woman  at  Home,  290 

"  Glad  Eye,  The,"  by  Louis 
Meyer,  272 

Gladstone,  W.  E.,  contributor  to 
Guardian,   312 

Glasgow  Advertiser,  first  title  of 
the  Herald,  201 

Glasgow  Evening  News,   198-200 

Glasgow  Evening  Times,  203 

Glasgow  Herald,  201-3;  famous 
editors  of,  201-2;  innovations 
due  to,  203 

Glasgoiu  Weekly  Herald,  203 

Glenconner,   Lord,  of  Renter's,  164 

Glenesk,  Lord,  of  the  Morning 
Post,  34;  and  display  adver- 
tisements, 37 ;  incidents  in  his 
earlier  career,  320 

Globe,  sketch  of,  94-8 ;  under  Mr. 
Madge,  94-5;  vicissitudes  of, 
95 ;   sonie   of   its   greatest  hits, 


352 


Inde 


X 


96-7 ;    under    a   syndicate,    97 ; 

editors    and    contributors,    98 ; 

turnovers   of,   98 
Goadby,  Edwin,  editor  of  Weslern 

Daily  Mercury,  227 
Goddard,    Ernest    Hope,    of    Illus- 
trated London  News,  240 
Godley;  G.  A.,  of  Daily  Mirror,  83 
Goldsmith,   Oliver,  corrector  of  the 

press,   74 
Gore,    William,    war    photographer 

of  Daily  Sketch,  88 
Goslett,    G.    A.    D.,    of    Exchange 

Telegraph   Company,    178 
Gough      Square,      Dr.      Johnson's 

house  in,  325 
Gould,    Sir    F.    C.,    cartoonist    of 

Westminster   Gazette,   99 
Grace,  W.  G.,  testimonial  to,  44 
Graham,     William,     chairman     of 

Financial  Times,   118 
Grant,    H.    A.    S.,    of   Nottingham 

Daily  Exfress,  217 
Graphic,   247-51 
Graves,      C.      L.,     contributor     to 

Globe,   98 ;   on   staff  of  Punch, 

257 
Green,    E.    Everett,   contributor   to 

Sunday  School   Chronicle,   317 
Green,  George,  of  Financial  News, 

121 
Greenwood,      Arthur,      editor      of 

Athenaum,  263 
Greenwood,  Charles,  of  Sfortsman, 

125 
Greenwood,   Frederick,   contributor 

to    Westminster    Gazette,    100; 

founder  of  St.  Jameses  Gazette, 

103 ;    first   editor    of   Pall  Mall 

Gazette,  106 
Greenwood,  James,  "The  Amateur 

Casual,"  of  Pall  Mall  Gazette, 

109 
Graham,    T.    A.,    of    Independent 

Newspapers,  Limited,  204 
Grierson,       Walter,       director      of 

George  Newnes,  Limited,  290 
GriflSths,       F.       J.,       director      of 

Renter's,  159 
Grimshaw,     Beatrice,     of     Witness 

and  Ulster  Echo,  224 
Grocer,  331 
Guardian,  311 
Guerre   Sociale,    now    La    Victoire, 

322 


Gutch,  John  Matthew,  formerly  of 
Bristol  Times  and  Mirror,   191 

Guth,  M.,  his  portraits  in  Graphic, 
248 

Gwynne,  H.  A.,  editor  of  the 
Morning  Post,  35 

Hackett,  N.  Desmond,  contributor 

to  Liverpool  Courier,  207 
Hackett,  W.   H.,  London  manager 

of   Yorkshire  Post,  236 
Haggard,    Sir    Rider,    and    "  King 

Solomon's  Mines,"  280 
Hagon,  C.jOf  Leicester  Daily  Post, 

206 
Haig,  Sir  Douglas,  portrait  of,  in 

Graphic,  248 
Halfpenny  Paper,  the,  distribution 

difficulties  of,  9 
Halfpenny  post,  the  Echo  and  the, 

2S2 
"  Halftones  "    acquired   by    Central 

News,  172 
Hamilton,     G.     F.,     secretary     of 

Exchange  Telegraph  Company, 

178 
Hammerton,    J.    A.,    with   Notting- 
ham  Daily  Express,  217  ;  with 

Amalgamated    Press,   297 ;   edi- 
tor of  War  Illustrated,  297 
Hammond,    Charles,    of    Yorkshire 

Post,  236 
Hammond,  J.   L.,  leader  writer  of 

Daily     News,     55 ;     editor     of 

Speaker     and     contributor     to 

Nation,  264 
Hampton,  Jesse    D.,  formerly  with 

Printers^   Ink,   336 
Hands,  Charles,  an  old  Star  man, 

II 
Hannajs     James,     contributor     to 

Pall  Mall  Gazette,   108 
Hardy,     Dudley,     his    picture     in 

Latest  Bits,  2 
Hare,  James,  his  war  photos,  244 
Harland,   W.    H.,   assistant   editor 

of  Financial  Times,  116 
Harmsworth,    Alfred.      See    North- 

cliffe.  Lord 
Harmsworth,  Cecil,  60 
Harmsworth,  Harold.     See  Rother- 

mere.  Lord 
Harmsworth,        Hildebrand,       60; 

owner  of  Globe,  95 
Harmsworth,  Leicester,  60  ■ 


Index 


353 


Harmsworth,  Vyvyan,  60 
Harrington,  T.  R.,  editor  of  Irish 

Independent,  204 
Harris,      Sir      Augustus,      former 

owner  of  Sunday  Times,  131 
Harris,  Josiah   Henry,  formerly  of 

Central  News,    174 
Harrison,   J.   C,   director  of   Pear- 
son's, 300 
Harrison,  J.  P.,  at  the  Globe,  98 

of  Central  News,  174 
narrower,  A.  B.,  of  Bystander ,2^0, 
Hart,    John,    advertising    manager 

of  London  Ofinion,  273 
Harting,   James,  natural  historian 

of  Field,  261 
Hartley,      Marshall,      director      of 

Methodist  Recorder,  313 
Hartley,  W.,  of  the  Star,  in 
Harvey,     D.     W.,     M.P.,     former 

owner  of  Sunday  Times,  130 
Harvey,    Herbert    Frost,    editor    of 

Birmingham  Daily  Mail,   190 
Haselden,    W.     K.,    cartoonist    of 

Daily  Mirror,  82 
Hatfield,  J.   H.,  of   Yorkshire  Post 

(London  office),  237 
Hatton,     Joseph,     his     "Cigarette 

Papers,"     152 ;    contributor    to 

Bristol  Ti7nes  and  Mirror,  191 
Havas  Agency,  Paris,  160 
Hawkins,  Walter,  of  Bristol  Times 

and  Mirror,   igi 
Haydon,    A.    L.,    editor    of    Boy^s 

Own   Pa-per,   314 
Hayward,     Mr.,    sports    editor    of 

South  Wales  Daily  Post,  224 
Hazlitt,    William,    contributor    to 

Sunday  Times,   130 
Head,    Alice,   editor  of    Woman   at 

Home  and  GirVs  Realm,  290 
Heald,     Ivan,    of    Daily    Exfress, 

killed  in  action,  78 
Healy,    John    E.,    editor    of    Irish 

Times,   205 
Hearst,  William  Randolph,  creator 

of  the  Yellow  Press,  319 
Heath,  G.  Wilson,  director  of  Mor- 
gan &   Scott,   306 
Heckstall-Smith,    Major    B.,   yacht- 
ing editor  of  Field,  262 
Heddle,  James,  of  Hulton's,  88,  91  ; 

on  Glasgow  Evening  News,  i()8 
Hellyer,    L.    Haigh,   of   the    Daily 

News,  57 


Henderson,  Fred,  leader  writer  on 

Eastern  Daily  Press,  194 
Hendriks,     H.     Leslie,     managing 

director   of   Bradbury,   Wilkin- 
son &  Co.,  329 
Henley,  W.  E.,  editor  of  Magazine 

of  Art,  280 
Ilerkomer,    Sir    H.,   contributor   to 

Graf  hie,   248 
Heron,  Albert,  of  Financial  News, 

121 
Herve,  Gustav,  of  La  Victoire,  322 
Hewart,  Sir  Gordon,  11 
Hewitt  &  Son,  F.,  Ltd.,  owners  of 

Leicester  Daily  Post,   206 
Higginbottom,  F.  J.,  manager  and 

afterwards  editor  of  Pall  Mall 

Gazette,  107 
Higgins,  F.,  formerly  engineer  to 

Exchange  Telegraph  Co.,  178 
Higham,      A.      P.,      manager      of 

Cambria  Daily  Leader,   192 
Higham,  C.  F.,  editor  of  Higham's 

Magazine,  332 
Highayn^ s  Magazine,  332 
Hill,  L.  Raven,  junior  cartoonist  of 

Punch,  257 
Hillier,  F.  J.,  news  editor  of  Daily 

News,  55,  56 
Hinde,  F.,  London  editor  of  York- 
shire Post,  237 
Hinton,    H.    A.,    of    Amalgamated 

Press,  296 
Hird,    B.    Whitworth,    manager   of 

Cassell's  General  Press,  279 
Hobbs,    S.    J.,    of    Bristol   Evening 

Times  and  Echo,  191 
Hobhouse,       Canon,       editor       of 

Guardian,   311 
Hobhouse,    L.    T.,    contributor    to 

Manchester   Guardian,   ■2\2. 
Hobman,     J.     B.,    of    Birmingham 

Gazette,  216 
Flocking,     Joseph,     contributor     to 

British   Weekly,   303 
Ilodder  &  Stoughton,  publishers  of 

British  Weekly,  303 
Hodge,  David,  of  London  office  of 

Glasgow  Evening  Nciiis,  200 
Hodgctts,  William,  of  Birmingham 

Journal,  188 
Hodgson,  J.  S.,  assistant  editor  of 

Daily  News,  55 
Hod  son,    B.    J.,   chief    reporter   of 

Central  News,  169,  172 


354 


Index 


Hodson,  F.  J.,  of  Weslern  Mail,  226 
Hoi  den,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  Stuart,  editor 

of  Christian,  305 
Holiday,     Gilbert,     war    artist    of 

Grafhic,   249 
Home  Chat,  296 
Home  Notes,  298 
Home,    Percy,    assistant    editor    of 

Sphere,  243,  244 
Homeyard,  W.,  6 
Ho7fime  E)tchatne,   U ,  322 
Homvie   Libre,    V ,  now   VHomme 

Enchaine,  t^zi 
Hood,  JacxDmb,  of  Grafhic,  248 
Hood,     Thomas,     associated     with 

Athenccum,  263 
Hope,  Anthony,  contributes  "  Dolly 

Dialogues "       to       Westminster 

Gazptte,   100 
Hotchkiss,     H.     L.,    of    Exchange 

Telegraph  Company,   178 
Houghton,  Stanley,  dramatic  critic 

of  Manchester  Guardian,  212 
Houghton,     Will,     of     Bystander, 

killed  in  action,  255 
Housman,  Lawrence,  contributor  to 

Manchester  Guardian,  213 
Howard,    Keble,   editor  of   Sketch, 

239 
Howarth,  L.,  with  Yorkshire  Post, 

236 
Howe,     Thomas    G.,    manager    of 

Christiatt,  305 
Howell,      George,     contributor     to 

Reynolds'"  s,   155 
Hoyle,  Rev.  Arthur,  contributor  to 

Methodist  Recorder,  313 
Hoynck,  M.,  war  artist  of  Grafhic , 

249 
Hudson,      Edward,      founder      of 

Country  Life,   288 ;   director  of 

George  Newnes,  Ltd.,  288 
Hughes,    Elliss,   of    Western    Mail, 

226 
Hughes,   Rev.    Hugh   Price,   editor 

of  Methodist  Times,  313 
Hughes,      Spencer     Leigh,     M.P., 

"  Sub     Rosa "     of     the     Daily 

News,       56 ;       contributes      to 

Reynolds'' s,        155;        "Gallery 

Hand  "  of  Christian  World,  306 
Hughes,   Tom,   contributor   to  Pall 

Mall  Gazette,  108 
Hull  Daily  Mail,  203 
Hull  Weekly  Times,  203 


Hulton,  E.  ("The  Guv'nor "), 
enterprise  of,  87 ;  personality 
of,  88 ;  purchases  the  Evening 
Standard,   105 

Hulton's  publications,  86-93  ;  offices 
of,  in  Manchester  and  London, 
86 ;  members  of  the  firm's  staff, 

9=^-3 

Humamte,  V ,  322 

Humbert,   Charles,  of   Le  Journal, 

322 
Humphry,  Mrs.,  of  Truth,  260 
Hunt,    Professor,    associated    with 

Athenaum,  263 
Hunter,  Alfred,   director  of  H.   R. 

Baines  &  Co.,  247 
Hunter,    Sam,    editor    of    Glasgow 

Herald,  201 
Hurry,  Alfred,  of   Daily   Grafhic, 

253 
Huskinson,    E.,    editor    of    Taller, 

255 
Hussey,      George,     of     Pall     Mall 

Gazette,  108 
Hutchinson,    A.    S.    M.,    editor    of 

Daily  Grafhic,  252 
Hutchinson,      Arthur,      editor      of 

Windsor,    246 
Hutchison,   G.   A.,  editor  of  Bo^ s 

Own  Pafer,  314 
Hutin,  Marcel,  of  IJ'Echo  de  Paris, 

321 
Hutton,  R.  H.,  contributor  to  Pall 

Mall  Gazette,   108 
Huxtable,  J.   E.,  director  of  Brad- 
bury, Wilkinson  &  Co.,  329 
Hyde,     Charles,     of     Birmingham 

Daily  Post,  189 

Ideas,  Q2 

Iliffe,  William,  337 

Illustrated  London  News,  238-42 

Illustrated  Sporting  and  Dramatic 
News,  239 

Illustrated  War  News,  239 

Imperial  Press  Conference,   181-2 

Impressions,  332 

Independent  Newspapers,  Limited 
(Dublin),  204 

Independent  Observer  incorporated 
with  Sunday  Times,  130 

Ingoldsby,  Thomas,  contributor  to 
the  Globe,  98 

Ingram,  Bruce,  editor  of  Illus- 
trated     London      News      and 


Index 


355 


Sketch,  239 ;  director  of  Illus- 
trated Sporting  and  Dramatic 
News  and  Lady^s  Pictorial,  239 

Ingram,  Charles,  managing  direc- 
tor of  Illustrated  London  News 
and  Sketch,  239 

Ingram,  Herbert,  founder  of  Illus- 
trated London  News,  238 ; 
director  of  Pearson's,  300 

Ingram,  Sir  William,  of  Illustrated 
London  News,  238 ;  founder  of 
Sketch,  239,  242 

Ingram,  Sir  W.  J.,  director  of 
Pearson's,  300 

Interviewer,  the  American,  321 

Ireland'' s  Saturday  Night,  187,  iSS 

Irish  Daily  Telegra-ph,   1S7 

Irish  Field,  206 

Irish  Indefendent,  204 

Irish  Post,  187 

Irish  Times,  205 

Irish  Weekly  Indefendent,  204 

Ironmonger,  331 

Irvine,  John  D.,  Parliamentary 
correspondent  of  Glasgow 
Evening  News,  200 

J^i^>  335 

Islington  Daily  Gazette^  210 
Ivens,   Richard,  editor  of  Notting- 
ham Guardian,  218 

Jackson,  Holbrook,  acquires  To- 
Day,  275 

Jackson,  R.  B.,  of  Fulton's  London 
house,  93 

Jaffray,  Sir  John,  of  Birmingham 
Daily  Post,  189 

James,  Edward,  of  Western  Mail, 
226 

James,  H.  Wentworth,  of  Pear- 
son's, 299 

Jameson,  Sir  Starr,  of  Renter's,  164 

Jamieson,  \V.,of  Liverpool  Courier , 
208 

Jaures,  M.,  of  Ullumanite,  322 

Jeans,  A.  G.,  managing  director  of 
Liverpool  Post  and  Mercury, 
209,  210 

Jeans,  Allan,  of  Liverpool  Mercury 
and  Post,  211 

Jefferies,  Richard,  contributor  to 
Manchester  Guardian,  213 

Jenkins,  Cecil  S.  W.,  secretary  of 
Hradbury,     Wilkinson    &    Co., 


Jennings,  Richard,  leader  writer  of 

Daily  Mirror,  82 
Jeremiah,  J.  D.,  of  Hulton's,  87 
Jerningham,  C.  E.,  of  Truth,  260 
Jerome,   Jerome  K.,   contributor   to 

Sunday  Herald,  90 
Jerrold,    Blanchard,    former    editor 

of  Lloyd's  News,  73 
John  Bull,  273 
Johnson,  Alfred,  of  George  Newnes, 

Limited,  289 
Johnson,     Rev.     Frank,     editor     of 

Sunday  School  Chronicle,  316 
Johnson,   K.  W.,  editor  of  System, 

Johnson,  Dr.  Samuel,  on  Birming- 
ham Journal,  iSS ;  his  house  in 
Gough  Square,  325 

Jones,  ¥.  Newling,  of  South  Wales 
Daily  News,  223 

Jones,  Harry,  editor  of  Western 
Daily  Mercury,  228 ;  with 
Daily  Chronicle,  229 

Jones,  John,  commercial  manager 
of  South  Wales  Daily  Post, 
224 

Jones,  Kennedy,  M.P.,  story  of 
his  career,  62-4  ;  personality  of, 
64-5 ;  association  with  Daily 
Mirror,  80 ;  began  on  Glasgow 
Evening  Nezvs,   198 

Jones,  Roderick,  head  manager  of 
Renter's,  163-5 

Journalism  as  a  profession,  i 

Journalism,  the  new,  2-3;  its  cama- 
raderie, 4;  incidents  of  its 
birth,  9;  its  characteristics,  14; 
managerial  responsibilities  of, 
19;  the  question  of  advertise- 
ments, 20  ;  sizes  of  newspapers, 
21  ;  difficulties  of  financial, 
T17;  temptations  of  financial, 
118;  tabloid  character  of,  127; 
yellow,  319;  "something  for 
nothing,"  320 

Journalism,  the  old,  its  Bohemian- 
ism,  7-8;  its  characteristics, 
16-8 

Judge,  J.  J.,  editor  of  Western 
Evening  Herald,  229 

KAt'FFMAN,      Louis,      manager      of 

'Truth,  260 
Keary,      Miss,      editor     of     Home 

Notes,  298 


356 


Index 


Keary,    Peter,    managing    director 

of  Pearson's,  298 
Kebbell,     T.     E.,     contributor     to 

Globe,  98 
Keenan,     Patrick     J.,     of     Belfast 

Evening  Telegraph,  188 
Kelly,    J.,    of    South    Wales    Daily 

News,  222 
Kenealy,     Alexander,     with    Daily 

Ex-press,       76 ;       with      Daily 

Mirror,    80 
Kerr,    A.    W.,    LL.D.^    of    Belfast 

Evening  Telegraph,  187 
Kessell,   Ernest,  of  Pearson's,  298 
Kilpatrick,   J.    A.,   editor   of  Even- 
ing Standard,  105 ;  engaged  on 

Glasgow  Evening  News,  200 
King,   D.  VV.,  of  Financial  Times, 

116 
King,  George,  one  of  the  founders 

of  Sphere,  243 
King,  Miss,  with  Bazaar ,  Exchange 

and  Mart,  270 
King,  Richard,  of  Taller,  256 
King,  Wilfred,  managing   director 

of    Exchange    Telegraph    Com- 
pany, 178 
Kingston,    W.    H.    G.,    and    Boy''s 

Own  Paper,  314 
Kinnear,  Alfred,  of  Central  News, 

174;   with  East  Anglian  Daily 

Ti?nes,  195 
Kipling,    Rudyard,    contributor    to 

St.  James's  Gazette,  103 
Kirby,  T.  E.,  advertising  manager 

of  Lloyd's  News,  75 
Kitchener,    Lord,    last    portrait    of 

(Graphic),  248 
Kitchin,    F.     Harcourt,    editor    of 

Glasgow  Herald,  202 
Klickmann,   Flora,  editor  of  Girl's 

Own      Paper      and      Woman's 

Magazine,  314 
Knight,  Joseph,   dramatic  critic  of 

AthencEum ,  263 
Knowles,    Sheridan,   contributor   to 

Sunday  Times,  130 
Knox,  Major  Lawrence  E.  Knox,  of 

Irish  Times,  205 

La  Belle  Sauvage,  276-7 

Labouchere,  Henry,  his  letters  from 
besieged  Paris,  54;  founder 
and  editor  of  Truth,  258 

Lady's  Pictorial,  240 


Lancashire  Journal,  190 

"Lancelot"  of  Referee,  147 

Lancet,  331 

Land  and  Water,  266-8 

Landon,     Perceval    ("Londoner"), 

43 
Lane,  Ralph,  editor  of  Pans  Mes- 
senger, 324 
Lang,      Andrew,      contributor      to 

Manchester      Guardian,      212; 

associated  with  Athenceum,  263 
Lanyon,  John,  former  secretary  of 

Central  News,   174 
Larne  Times,  187 
Latey,  John,  editor  of  Sketch,  239 ; 

retirement  of,  241 
Latey,     John,      Junr.,      editor     of 

Penny  Illustrated  Paper,  240 
Lathbury,       D.       C,      editor      of 

Guardian,  311 
Latimer,  Isaac,  founder  of  Western 

Daily  Mercury,  226-7 
Latimer,    John    Paddon,    editor   of 

Western  Daily  Mercury,  227 
Law,  James,  manager  of  Scotsman, 

198 
Lawrence,  Boyle,  of  Daily  Express, 

77 
Lawrence,    W.    E.    B.,   of   Western 

Mail,  226 
Lawson,    John,    of    Aberdeen    Free 

Press,   185 
Lawson,   Robb,   publicity  manager 

of  Cassell's,  279 
Le  Bas,  Sir  Hedley,  his  multiform 

activities,  339,  340 
Lee,  Ernest  D.,  formerly  of  Bristol 

Times  and  Mirror,  191 
Leeds  Mercury,  206 
Le  Gallienne,  Richard,  11 
Lehmann,  R.  C,  of  Punch,  257 
Leicester  Daily  Post,  206 
Leighton,   Lord,   P.R.A.,  contribu- 
tor to  Graphic,  248 
Leisure  Hour,  314 
Lemon,  Mark,  contributor  to  Bristol 

Times  and  Mirror,  191 
Leng,  C.  D.,  managing  director  of 

Sheffield  Telegraph,  221 
Leng,      Lieutenant      Douglas,      of 

Sheffield  Telegraph,  221 
Leng,    Sir    John,    M.P.,   owner   of 

Dundee  Advertiser,  192 
Leng,  W.  St.  Q.,  of  Sheffield  Tele- 

graph,  221 


Index 


357 


Leng,   Sir  William  Christopher,  of 

Shefield  Daily  Telegra-ph,   220 
Le    Sage,    John    Merry,    managing 

editor  of  the  Daily  Telegraph, 

39  ;  some  reminiscences,  43 
Leslie,  Henry,  of  Pall  Mall  Gazette, 

69,  107 
Lever,    Sir   William,    President   of 

Sphinx  Club,  335 
Levy,  Joseph  Moses,  former  owner 

of  Sunday  Times,   130 
Lewis,    E.    Wills,    of    Hull    Daily 

Mail,    204 
Lewis,    Edgar    S.,   editor   of    Hull 

Daily  Mail,  203 
Lewis,  Harold,  at  the  Globe,  98 
Lima,  Bertram,  chairman  of  Daily 

Mirror    and    Sunday    Pictorial 

Companies,  85 
Linaker,  W.  E.,  of  Western  Daily 

Mercury,  229 
Lincolnshire  Chronicle,  215 
Linforth,   A.    E.,   vice-chairman  of 

Amalgamated  Press,  297 
Linforth,   A.    R.,  of   Amalgamated 

Press,  296 
Linotype  first  installed  in  a  London 

newspaper   office    [People),    96 ; 

in  a  provincial  office  [Notting^ 

hayn   Guardian),  217 
Linton,   Mrs.  Lynn,  contributor  to 

Globe,  98 
Lipscomb,  H.  P.,  director  of  Pear- 
son's, 300 
Lipscomb,      Harry,     publisher     of 

Pearson's,  299 
Little  Folks,  277 
"Little    Minister,"    by    Sir    James 

Barrie,  280 
Littlewood,  S.  R.,  of  Referee,  147 
Liverpool  Courier,  207 
Liverpool  Echo,  209,  210 
Liverpool  Daily  News,  50 
Liverpool  Express,  207,  208 
Liverpool  Football  Echo,  209 
Liverpool  Football  Express,  207,  208 
Liverpool  Journal,  209 
Liverpool    Mercury,     amalgamated 

with  Liverpool  Post,  209 
Liverpool  Post  and   Mercury,   208- 

11;    two   papers   amalgamated, 

209 
Liverpool  Weekly  Courier,  207,  208 
Liverpool  Weekly  Mercury,  209 
Liverpool  Weekly  Post,  209,  210 


Lloyd,  Edward,  founder  of  the 
Daily  Chronicle,  71  ;  of  Lloyd's 
News,  73 

Lloyd,  Frank,  chairman  of  United 
Newspapers,  Ltd.,  and  Paper 
Manufacturer,  75 

Lloyd,  Neville,  director  of  United 
Newspapers,  Ltd.,  75 

Lloyd,  Thomas,  literary  editor  of 
Evening  Standard,   105 

Lloyd's  News,  72-4 

Locker,  W.  Algernon,  formerly 
editor  of  Morning  Post,  35 ; 
editor  of  Globe,  98;  London 
correspondent  of  Irish  Times, 
205  ;  deputy  assistant  editor  of 
Punch,  257 

London,  founded  by  Robert  Donald, 
70 

London  Magazine,  296 

London  News  Agency,  178-81 

London  News  Agency  Photos,  180 

London  Opinion,  270-3 

Loudoun,  David,  manager  of  Glas- 
gow Evening  News,  200 

Lovell,  John,  former  manager  of  the 
Press  Association,  167  ;  on  Bir- 
mingham Daily  Post,   189 

Low,  Sidney,  editor  of  St.  James's 
Gazette,  103 

Lowe,  Rev.  Dr.,  contributor  to 
Belfast  Evening  Telegraph,  188 

Lowe,  George,  the  late,  of  Sporting 
Life,  122 

Lowndes,   Brothers,  of  The  Times, 

235 

Lucas,  E.  v.,  contributor  to  Globe, 
98 ;  vice-editor  of  Punch,  257 

Lucas,  Sir  Seymour,  contributor  to 
Graphic,  248 

Lucy,  Sir  Henry,  Parliamentary 
correspondent  of  Birmingham 
Daily  Post,  189  ;  London  corre- 
spondent of  East  Anglian  Daily 
Times,  195 ;  formerly  with 
Liverpool  Mercury,  210 

Lupton,  Alan,  director  of  H.  R. 
Baines  &  Co.,  247 

Lyall,  David,  contributor  to 
British  Weekly,  303 

Lynch,  J.  P.,  editor  of  /rish  Weekly 
Independent  and  Sunday  Inde- 
pendent, 204 

Lynd,  Robert,  literary  editor  of 
Daily  News,  56 


358 


Index 


McAi.iECE,  W.  J.,  of  Observer,  128 

McArtJiur,  Sir  William,  of 
Methodist   Recorder,   312 

Macaulay,  Dr.,  editor  of  Leisure 
Hour,  314 

McBain,  John,  of  Amalgamated 
Press,  296 

McCarthy,  Justin,  "The  Dictator," 
by,  published  in  Westminster 
Gazette  daily,  loi  ;  editor  of 
Morning  Star,  210;  his  "His- 
tory of  Our  Own  Times,"  281 

McClure,  Edwin,  of  Belfast  Even- 
ing Telegrafh,  188 

MoCoU,  Norman,  editor  of  Athe- 
nceum,  263 

McComb,  Robert,  of  Ireland's 
Saturday  Night,   188 

McCombie,  William,  former  editor 
of  Aberdeen  Free  Press,  1S4 

Macdonald,  C.  J.  B.,  of  Field,  262 

Macdonald,  Rev.  Dr.  F,  W.,  direc- 
tor of  Methodist  Recorder,  313 

Macfarlane,  Mr.,  publisher  of 
Grafhic,  Daily  Grafhic,  and 
Bystander,  247 

Macfarlane,  William,  formerly 
owner  of  S  for  ting  Life,  122 

Machen,  Arthur,  of  Evening  News, 
66 

Mcintosh,  James,  of  Aberdeen 
Journal,   186 

MacKilligan,  Alexander,  of  Aber- 
deen Free  Press,  185 

MacKintosh,  Alexander,  of  Aber- 
deen Free  Press,  185 

Maclachlan,  T.  B.,  editor  of  Edin- 
burgh  Evening  Disfaich,   198 

Maclaren,  Charles,  ©ditor  of  Scots- 
man, 197 

Maclaren,  Ian,  303 

Maclennan,  R.  J.,  of  Glasgow  Even- 
ing News,  1 99 

McMonagle,  A.,  editor  of  Witness 
and  Ulster  Echo,  225 

Macnamara,  Dr.,  M.P.,  307 

MacNeil,  Archibald,  of  Sfortsman, 

125 
McNeill,    Ronald,    M.P.,    editor   of 

St.    'James'' s  Gazette,   103 
Macpherson,     Douglas,     artist     of 

Sphere,   246 
Macrae,   Douglas  Gordon,   founder 

of  Financial  Times,  117 
"Madge,"  of  Truth,  260 


Madge,  W.  T.,  manager  of  the 
Globe,  94 ;  his  negotiations 
with  the  Evening  News,  95 ; 
reforms,  96 ;  earlier  career  of, 
148-9;  starts  Peo-ple,  150;  ex- 
amples of  enterprise,   151 

Mahaffy,  Professor,  associated  with 
Athenaum,  263 

Maidstone  and  Kent  County  Stand- 
ard, 334 
Maidstone  and  Kentish  Journal,  334 

Make-up,  the  problems  of,  in  weekly 
illustrated  papers,  251 

"Man  of  Kent,  The,"  of  British 
Weekly,  302 

Manchester,  Daily  News  office  in, 
50 ;  northern  edition  of  Daily 
Mail  in,  61  ;  Hulton's  offices  in, 
86,  92,  93 

Manchester  Guardian,  21 1-3 

Mann,  Arthur  H.,  editor  of  Even- 
ing Standard,  105 ;  formerly  of 
Western  Mail,  226 

Mann,  A.  H.,  of  Amalgamated 
Press,  296 

Mann,  J.  S.,  co-editor  of  "Social 
England,"  43 

Manning,  Cardinal,  contributor  to 
Guardian,  312 

Manson,  James  A.,  "Jack  High" 
(bowls),  of  Field,  262 

Marconi  monopoly,  172 

Marett,  Dr.,  associated  with 
AthencEum,   263 

Marinoni,  M.,  and  founding  the 
halfpenny  Press,  65 

Marks,  Bernard,  "  Tristram "  of 
Referee,  148 

Marks,  H.  Yi.,iQVirxA.^t  oi  Financial 
News,  119 

Marlowe,  Thomas,  an  old  Star 
man,  10-12;  appointed  editor 
of  Daily  Mail,  59 ;  director  of 
Daily  Mail,  60 

"Marmaduke,"  of  Truth,  260 

Marr,  Alexander,  publisher  of 
Aberdeen  Free  Press,  185 

Marshall,  Archibald,  Paris  corre- 
spondent of  Daily  News,  324 

Marshall,  Sir  Horace,  337 

Marshall,  Percival,  337 

Marson,  Harvey,  with  Press  of 
Nice  and  Channel  Islands,  235 

Martin,  H.,  of  London  News 
Agency,  235 


Index 


359 


Martineau,  Harriet,  associated 
with  Athenccum,  263 

Masefield,  John,  reviewer  for 
Daily  News,  55 

Massingham,  H.  W.,  editor  of 
Daily  Chronicle,  "ji  ;  editor  of 
Star,  no;  of  Eastern  Daily 
Press,  194;  of  Manchester 
Guardian,  212 ;  editor  of 
Nation,  264,  265 

Masterman,  C.  F.  G.,  of  the  Daily 
News,  conducts  small  holdings 
campaign,  53;  his  facility  as 
leader  writer,  54 

Matania,  F.,  artist  of  Sfhere,  246 

Matin,  Le,  322 

Maxwell,  J.  B.,  London  corre- 
spondent of  V/estern  Morning 
News,  233 

Maxwell,  William,  editor  of  Aber- 
deen Journal  and  Express, 
186 

May,  Phil,  de  Rougemont  drawing 
by,  71,  72 

Mears,  Walter,  of  Daily  Mirror,  83 

Mee,  Arthur,  formerly  with  Not- 
tingham Daily  Exfress,  217; 
with  Amalgamated  Press,  297 

Meikle,  A.,  editor  of  Wolverhamp- 
ton Ex-press  and  Star,   234 

Melrose,  Andrew,  publisher  of 
Sunday  School  Union,  316 

Mennons,  John,  founder  of  Glas- 
gow Advertiser,  201 

"Merlin"  of  Referee,  146 

Methodist  Recorder,  312 

Methodist  Times,  313 

Mewes,  G.  H.,  military  photo- 
grapher of  Daily  Mirror,  82 

Meyer,  Rev.  Dr.  F.  B.,  director  of 
Morgan  &  Scott,  306 

Meyer,  Louis,  art  editor  of  London 
Opinion,  271  ;  his  theatrical 
ventures,  272 

Michie,  R.  J.,  of  Bristol  Times  and 
Mirror,  191 

Midleton,  Mr.,  editor  of  London 
Magazine,  296 

Midi,  size  of,  319 

Midwinter,  H.  C.,  of  Nottingham 
Weekly  Guardian,  219 

Mildren,  Lieut. -Colonel  W.  F.,  of 
Amalgamated  Press,  297 

Millais,  Sir  J.  E.,  R.A.,  story  of 
his  "  Cherry  Ripe,"  248 


Miller,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  R.,  contributor 
to     Sunday    School     Chronicle, 

Miller,  Robbins,  cartoonist  of  Glas- 
gow Evening  News,  200 
Milne,  Alan  A.,  assistajit  editor  of 

Punch,  257 
Milne,  D.  G.,  manager  of  Cassell's 

printing  works,  283 
Modern  Business,  amalgamated  with 

System,    336 ;    founded    by    Sir 

Hedley  Le  Bas,  340 
Moles,  Thomas,  of  Belfast  Evening 

Telegraph,  187 
Molton,   B.   W.,  of   Wolverha7npton 

Express  and  Star,  234 
Money,    Sir    Leo    Chiozza,    of    the 

Daily  News,  56 
Montague,    C.    E.,    of    Manchester 

Guardian,  212 
Moody,   D.   L.,   accounts  in   Chris- 
tian of  his  mission,  305 
Moore,  A.  K.,  35 
Moore,    John,    former   chairman  of 

Central  News,  174 
"Mordred"  of  Referee,  147 
Moreland,  Arthur,  of  the  Star,  in 
Morgan,    Captain    D.    Hughes,    of 

Western  Mail  directorate,  225 
Morgan,    G.    E.,    consulting   editor 

of  Christian,  304,  305 
Morgan,      H.      E.,      President     of 

Sphinx    Club,    335 ;    with    the 

Ministry  of  Alunitions,  335 
Morgan,  Richard  Cope,  founder  of 

Christian,  304 
Morgan,    Major    S.    Cope,   director 

of  Morgan  &•  Scott,  306 
Morgan,      Sir     Walter     Vaughan, 

Lord  Mayor  of  London,  338 
Morgan   &    Scott,    publishers,    305, 

306 
Morley,    Charles,     and     Illustrated 

I^ondon  News,  241 
Morley,  Professor  Henry,  editor  of 

Cassell's  National  Library,  279 
Morley,  John  (Lord  Morley),  editor 

of     Pall     Mall     Gazette,     106; 

editor  of  Morning   Star,  210 
Morning,  birth  and   death  of,   62  ; 

temporary     home    of     Referee, 

145  ;  change  of  name,  179 
Morning    Chronicle,    rivalry    with 

The  Times,  27 ;  defeat  of,  29 
Morning  Herald,  2;  end  of,  179 


36o 


Index 


Morning  Leader,  starting  of,  7,  8 ; 
amalgamation  of,  with  Daily 
News,  47 ;  the  first  number  of 
the  joint  issue,  49 

Morning  Post,  sketch  of,  33-8;  dis- 
tinction of,  34 ;  editors  of,  35  ; 
managers  of,  36 ;  policy  of,  37  ; 
its  staff,  37 

Morning  Star,  210 

Morrell,  G.  F.,  his  bird's-eye  views 
and  maps  in   Graphic,   250 

Morrell,  J.  B.,  director  of  North 
of  England  Newspaper  Com- 
pany, 215,   216 

Morris,  Sir  Malcolm,  K.C.V.O'., 
director  of  Cassell's,  278 

Morton,  Edward  A.,  "  Mordred " 
of   Referee,    147 

Motor  Trader,   337 

Moyle,   E.   J.,  of  People,    152 

Moyna,  Captain,  of  the  Morning 
Post,  killed  in  action,  38 

Mozley,  J.  B.,  one  of  the  founders 
of   Guardian,   311 

Mrs.  Bull,  afterwards  Everywoman, 

273 
Mumford,      Herbert,     of     Evening 

News,   235 
Mundella,  A.  J.,  and  the  Echo,  282 
Municipal  Journal,    70 
Munro,    Hector    ("  Saki "),    of   By- 
stander, killed  in  action,  255 
Munro,    Neil,    LL.D.,    director    of 

Glasgow  Evening  News,   iqq 
Murch,    H.,    printer    of    the    Daily 

News,    57 
Murphy,    E.    Martin,    director    of 

Independent  Newspapers, 

Limited,    204 
Murphy,     William      Martin,     chief 

of     Independent     Newspapers, 

Limited,    204 
Murray,  David  Christie,  "  Merlin  " 

of    Referee,    146 
Murray,      Greville,      his      "  Queer 

Stories  "  in  Truth,  260 
Murray,  W.  L.,  of  Renter's,   164 
Mycroft,   W.    C,   of  the   Globe,   98 

Nankivell,  Mr.,  the  late,  of  the 
Reporter's  Magazine,  68 

Nansen's,  Dr.,  North  Pole  Expedi- 
tion, 72 

Napier,  Hon.  Mark  F.,of  Renter's, 
164 


Nash,  Vaughan,  Vice-Chairman  of 
the  Development  Board,  leader 
writer  of  Daily  News,  55 

Nash's  Magazine,  319 

Nation,  264-5 

National  Library,  Cassell's,  edited 
by  Henry  Morley,  279 

National  Press  Agency,  and  East- 
ern Daily  Press,  194 

Naval  and  Military  Record,  232 

Netting,  A.  W.,  news  editor  of 
Daily  Graphic,  253 

Nettleton,  S.  N.,  of  Financial 
Times,  116 

New  Magazine,  success  of,  2S3 

New  Witness,  267 

New  York  Herald,  its  old  "  shake 
up "  policy,   77 ;   Paris  edition 

of,  319 

New  York  News  Bureau  Associa- 
tion, 173 

New  York  Tribune,  320 

Newcastle  Chronicle,  213,  214 

Newfoundland  paper  industry,  31 

Newman,  Edward,  editor  of 
Friend,  310 

Newman,  Henry  Stanley,  editor  of 
Friend,   310 

Newnes,  Sir  Frank,  chairman  of 
George  Newnes,  Limited,  289 ; 
director  of  C.  Arthur  Pearson, 
Limited,  290,  300;  director  of 
Westminster  Gazette,  290 ;  his 
revenge,  290 

Newnes,  Sir  George,  founds  the 
Westminster  Gazette,  99 ;  his 
ideal  of  an  evening  paper,  102 ; 
acquires  Weekly  Dispatch, 
146;  once  owner  of  Cambria 
Daily  Leader,  192  ;  starts  Tit- 
Bits;  originates  Strand  Maga- 
zine, 287 ;  secret  of  his  success, 
28S-9 

Newnes,  George,  Limited,  sketch 
of,  285-90;  the  men  at  the 
helm,  289 

News  of  the  World,  sketch  of,  134- 
40;  its  record  circulation,  135; 
some  of  its  great  "hits,"  136; 
its  printing  reforms,  138 ;  some 
members  of  its  staff,  138-40 

Newspaper    Owner    and    Manager, 

333 
Newspaper   Press    and    the    Great 

War,  338 


Index 


361 


Newspaper  World,  333 

Newspapers,  sizes  of,  21 

Newton,  H.  Chance,  of  Referee,  147 

Newton,  J.  H.,  of  Amalgamated 
Press,  297 

Nicoll,  Sir  William  Robertson,  edi- 
tor of  British  Weekly,  302-3 ; 
co-editor  of  Bookman,  304;  his 
versatility  and  industry,  304 

Nind,  Edwin,  of  Pearson's,  299 

Nisbet,  J.  F.,  of  Referee,  146; 
dramatic  critic  of  The  Times, 
146;  dramatic  critic  of 
Western  Morning  Nezvs,  231 

Norman,  Sir  Henry,  M.P.,  with 
Daily  Chronicle,  69 

North  Mail,  213,  214 

North  of  England  Newspaper  Com- 
pany, 215 

Northcliffe,  Lord,  his  association 
with  The  Times,  23 ;  his  per- 
sonality, 25 ;  enormous  power 
for  work,  26 ;  on  the  temporary 
decline  of  The  Times,  29 ;  how 
his  connection  with  The  Times 
arose,  30-1  ;  as  organiser,  31  ; 
faith  in  delegation,  31 ;  founds 
the  Daily  Mail,  59 ;  co-proprie- 
tor of  the  Evening  News,  64; 
reconstructs  Daily  Mirror,  79 ; 
acquires  Observer,  126;  founds 
Answers,  292;  his  leadership  of 
the  Amalgamated  Press,  293 

Northcote,  Sir  Stafford  (Lord 
Iddesleigh),  contributor  to 
Guardian,  312 

Northern  Dispatch,  215 

Northern  Echo,  214-6 

Northern  Scot,  218 

Notes  and  Queries,  263 

Nottingham  Daily  Express,  21(1 

Nottingham  Daily  Guardian,  217-9 

Nottingham  Evening  News,  216 

Nottingham  Eveniyig  Post,  217,  218 

Nottingham  Journal,  amalgamated 
with  Nottingham  Express,  217 

Nottingham  Weekly  Guardian,  219 

Oakley,   John,   editor  of  Sheffield 

Daily  Telegraph,  221 
O'Brien,      Barry,     contributor     to 

Globe,  98 
O'Connor,  Thomas  Power 

("T.P."),  founds  the  Sun,  63, 

no;  starts  the  Star,  109;  gifts 


and   personality   of,    109 ;    con- 
tributes to  Reynolds's,   155 
O'Neill,  J.  J.,  of  London  office  of 

Manchester  Guardian,  2.12. 
Observer,  126-9;  poUcy  of,  127-8 
Odhams,  273-4 

Ogle,  Ponsonby,  at  the  Globe,  98 
Ogston,  William,  of  Aberdeen  Free 

'Press,  184 
Oldham,  Arthur,  of  the  Globe,  98 
Orange,     George,     of     Educational 

Book  Company,  297 
Outhwaite,  Ernest,  editor  of  Leeds 

Mercury,  206 
Outlook  under  J.   L.    Garvin,    126; 

Hilaire  Belloc  on  staff  of,  267 
Outram,  George,  editor  of  Glasgozv 

Herald,   201 
Overseas  Mail,  144 
Owen,   Thomas,    ^LP.,    founder   of 

Western   Newspaper   Company, 

227 
Oxenham,     John,     contributor     to 

British  Weekly,  303 

Pagan,  Dr.  James,  editor  of  Glas- 
gow Herald,  201 

Paget,  H.  M.,  artist  of  Sphere,  246 

Pall  Mall  Gazette,  founded  by 
George  Smith,  106;  "Modern 
Babylon"  sensation  of,  106; 
its  editors,  106-8 ;  acquired  by 
Lord  Astor,  107 ;  acquired  by 
Davison  Dakiel,  M.P.,  loS; 
coups  of,  106,  107,  108 ;  ac- 
quired by  Sir  Henry  Dalziel, 
109 

Palmer,  Charles,  editor  of  the 
Globe,  96 ;  conflict  with  the 
authorities,  94,  96 

Palmer,  C.  H.,  editor  of  Financial 
Times,  116;  the  difficulties  he 
has  to  cope  with,  117 

Palmer,  H.  J.,  editor  of  Yorkshire 
Post,  236 

Palmer,  H.  W.,  of  Financial  News, 
121 

Palmer,  H.  W.  W.,  of  Financial 
Times,  116 

Palmerston,  Lord,  death  of,  singu- 
lar story  of,  43 

Panmure,  Lord,  outwitted  by 
Globe,  98 

Paper  Maker,  337 

Paper  supply,  problems  of,   ig 


62 


Index 


Paris  correspondents  of  London 
papers,  323-4 

Paris  edition  of  Daily  Mail,  61  ;  of 
New  York  Herald,  319 

Paris  Messenger,  324 

Parke,  Ernest,  his  diligence,  3 ;  his 
magnetic  power,  48;  his  jour- 
nalistic accomplishments,  no; 
in  control  of  Star,  no;  mem- 
ber of  Paper  Commission,  no; 
director  of  North  of  England 
Newspaper  Company,  215 

Parker,  Eric,  of  Land  and  Water, 
and  afterwards  with  Field,  266 

Parker,  Captain  F.,  shooting  editor 
of  Field,  261 

Parker,  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph,  contribu- 
tor to  Sunday  School  Chronicle, 

Parkin,  T.  H.,  editor  of  Sheffield 
Daily  Telegraph,  221 

Parkin,  T.  N.,  of  Yorkshire  Post 
(London  office),  237 

Partridge,  Bernard,  senior  car- 
toonist of  Punch,  257 

Passing  Show,  273 

Paterson,  Alexander,  of  Hulton's, 
92 

Paton,  Stuart,  of  Church  Family 
News-paper,  307,  308 

Paul,  Herbert,  leader  writer  of 
Daily  News,  55 

Paxton,  R.  M.,  ariisioi  Sphere,  2^^ 

Payn,  James,  "  Notebooker "  of 
Illustrated  London  News,  239 

Peacock,  E.  E.,  manager  of  the 
Morning  Post,  19 ;  tribute  to 
him,  36 ;  hon.  secretary  of  the 
Savage  Club,  36 ;  London 
correspondent  of  Glasgow 
Eveni7ig  News,  200 

Peacock,  G.  H.,  of  Liverpool 
Courier,  20S 

Peacock,  Harry,  manager  of  the 
Morning  Post,  36 

Peacock,  Wadham,  at  the  Globe,  98 

Pearce,  John,  his  long  service  with 
Morgan  &  Scott,  306 

Pearce,  Joseph,  first  printer  of 
Sheffield  Daily  Telegraph,  219 

Pearson,  Sir  Arthur,  first  editor  of 
Daily  Express,  76 ;  his  numer- 
ous activities,  78 ;  acquires  the 
Standard  and  Evening  Stan- 
dard,    103 ;     establishes    North 


Mail,  213;  ioundex  oi  Pearson'' s 
Weekly,      298 ;      chairman      of 
Pearson's,     300;     his     philan- 
thropic work,  300-1 
Pearson,      C.       Arthur,       Limited, 
founded,    298 ;    stafi    of,    298-9 ; 
success     of     Pearson's    Weekly, 
299;  directorate  of,  300 
Pearson'' s  Magazine,  300 
Pearson's    Weekly,    founded,     298; 
missing  word  competition,  299; 
soaked  in  eucalyptus,  299 
Pebody,  Charles,  on  staff  of  Bristol 
Times  and  Mirror ,   igi  ;  editor 
of  Yorkshire  Post,  236 
Peel,  Viscount,  of  Reuter's,   164 
Pegg,  W.,  of  Western  Mail,  226 
"  Pellinore  "  of  Referee,  147 
Pemberton,  Max,  ^'iXti  Answers,  2(^1 
Penderel-Brodhurst,    J.,    editor    of 

Guardian,  311 
"  Pendragon  "  of  Referee,  145,  146 
Pengelly,   R.    S.,   chief   reporter   of 

Star,  114 
Pennell,  Joseph,  Star  man,   n,  112 
Pennett,  B.,  of  the  Daily  News,  57 
Penny-a-liner,    the,    and    the    blue 

pencil,   17;  extinction  of,  178 
Penny  Illustrated  Paper,  240 
Penny  Magazine,  277 
People,   sketch  of,   150-2;   first  con- 
tents  bill  of,    150;   and   "Jack 
the  Ripper,"   151;  features  of, 

People's  Friend,  193 

People' s  Journal,   193 

People's  Library,  Cassell's,  279 

'•Percival"  of  Referee,  148 

Perkins,     R.     G.,     with     Worcester 

Herald,  235 
Perks,  Rev.  George  T.,  one  of  first 

directors      of      Methodist      Re- 
corder, 312 
Perris,  E.   A.,  of  Daily  Chronicle, 

72 ;     founder     of     the     London 

News  Agency,  178-9 
Peters,     Charles,     first     editor     of 

Girl's  Own  Paper,  31^ 
Petit  Journal,  Le,  322 
Petit  Parisien,  Le,  322 
Petrie,  John,  of  Daily  Sketch,  91 
Phillips,     S.      Charles,     of     Paper 

Maker,  337 
Phillips,    Sir   Claude,   art  critic  of 

Daily      Telegraph,      43 ;      con- 


Index 


363 


tributor  to  Manchester  Guar- 
dian, 213 

Phillips,  D.  T.,  of  Sunday  Herald, 
91 ;  chief  sub-editor  of  Evening 
Standard,  105 

Phillips,  E.  R.,  of  Yorkshire  Post, 
236 

PhiUips,  J.  S.  R.,  editor  of  York- 
shire Post,  236 

Phillips,  Percival,  of  Daily  Ex- 
press, 77 

Philpot,  Mrs.,  editor  of  Woman's 
World  and  Family  Journal,  296 

Phonographic   Observer ,    174 

Photographs,  war,  245 

Photogravure  printing,  Illustrated 
London  News  pioneer  of,  239 

Pichon,  Stephen,  of  Le  Petit  Jour- 
nal, 322 

Pictures  and  Playgoer,  274 

Pigeon  service,  Renter's,   15S 

Pigott,  Mostj-n  T.,  of  the  World,  335 

Pilgrims'   Club  founded,   181 

Planet,  134 

Play  Pictorial,  274 

Playgoer,  274 

Plymouth  Journal,  227 

Pointon,  F.  P.,  of  Nottingham 
Guardian,  219 

Pollen,  Arthur  H.,  contributor  to 
Land  and  Water,  267 

Pope,  Wilson,  news  editor  of  the 
Star,  114 

Popular  Educator,  277 

Porter,  E.  J.,  of  Worcestershire 
Chronicle,  235 

Post  Office  and  papers,  curious 
regulation,  269 

Powell,  E.  T.,  editor  of  Financial 
News,  119,   120 

Poynter,  Sir  Edward,  P.R.A.,  con- 
tributor to  Graphic,  248 

Prenter,  Rev.  Dr.,  contributor  to 
Witness,  225 

Press  Association  ("  P. A."),  sketch 
of,  165-8 

Press  Bureau,  47 

Press  Conference,   Imperial,   181 -2 

Price,  Julius  M.,  war  artist  of 
Illustrated  London  News,  238 

Primrose,  Heorge,  of  Glasgow 
Evening  News,  199 

Primrose,  Sir  John  Ure,  director 
of  Glasgow  Evening  News,  199 

Prince  of  Wales's  Fund,  301,  339 


Printers'  Ink,  336 

Printers'  Pie,  246 

Printing,  John  Walter  the  Second's 
services  to,  28 ;  dry-paper,  13S 

Printing  House  Square,  John 
Walter's  house  in,  27 ;  the  old 
printing  office  of  The  Times 
in,  2S 

Prior,  Melton,  war  artist  of  Illus- 
trated London  News,  238 

"  Priscilla  in  Paris"  (Tatler),  mys- 
tery of  her  fate,  256 

Proctor,  Charles,  of  Advertisers' 
Weekly,   336 

Prout,  Prof.,  associated  with 
Athenceum,  263 

Provincial  Press,  training  afforded 
by,  183;  influence  of,   1S3 

Pryor,  S.  J.,  former  editor  of 
Daily  Express,  76 ;  editor  of 
Evening  Standard  and  St. 
James's  Gazette,  103  ;  editor  of 
the  Tribune,   103 

Pugh,  E.,  "Galahad"  of  Referee, 

Pulitzer,  Joseph,  said  to  have 
founded    the    halfpenny    Press, 

65 
Punch,  257 

Queen,  262 
Quiver,  277 

Rainey,    F.    R.,    of    Western    Mail 

and     Evening     Express     (Car- 
diff),  226 
Ralston,     Alexander,     of     Glasg07u 

Eve ni Jig    News,    199 
Raphael,   John   N.,    "Percival"   of 

Referee,  148;  his  hospitality  in 

Paris,  324 
Read,  Bromley,  37 
Read,    H.,    of   South    Wales    Daily 

News,   222 
Reade,  Charles,  contributor  to  Pall 

Mall  Gazette,  108 
Reburn,  John,  director  of  Western 

Newspaper  Company,  228 
Reece,  V.,of  Bristol  Evening  Times 

and.  Echo,  190 
Reed,     Col.     Joseph,     director     of 

Newcastle  Chronicle  and  North 
1  Mail,  214 

I    Reed,     Sir     Stanley,     formerly     of 
I  Bristol  Times  and  Mirror,   iqi 


3^ 


Index 


Rees,  Thomas,  formerly  editor  of 
Cambria  Daily  Leader,    192 

Referee,  sketch  of,  144-8 ;  its  asso- 
ciation with  the  old  Weekly 
Disfatch,  144,  145 ;  its  Arthu- 
rian contributors,   145-8 

Reid,  Sir  T.  Wemyss,  editor  of 
Leeds  Mercury,  206 ;  general 
manager  of  'Cassell's,  278 

Reid,  Whitelaw,  of  New  York 
Tribune,    320 

Reinach,  Joseph,  of  Le  Gaidois,  321 

Religious  Tract  Society,  313-5 

Rendall,  Vernon,  editor  of  Athe- 
nceum,    263 

Rendle,  Dr.  S.  M.  Russel,  of 
Western   Morning   News,   232 

Rendle,  T.  McDonald,  on  staff  of 
Bristol  Times  and  Mirror,  191 ; 
with  Western  Morning  News, 
231  ;  contributor  to  Lofzdon 
Opinion,    273 

Renouard,  Paul,  artist  of  Graphic, 
249 

Rentoul,  Mr.,  first  editor  of  Spec- 
tator, 264 

Renwick,  George,  formerly  with 
Nottingham  Daily  Express, 
217 

Repington,  Col.  A'Court,  military 
correspondent  of  Westminster 
Gazette,    101 

Rettie,  George,  sub-editor  of 
Christian,    305 

Renter,  Baron  Herbert  de,  161  ; 
his  linguistic   gifts,    162 

Reuter,  Baron  Julius  de,  157-61 

Reuter's  News  Agency,  sketch  of, 
157-65;  examples  of  unique 
enterprise,    160-61 

Review  of  Reviews,  287 

Revival,   afterwards   Christian,   304 

Reynolds,  Edward,  editor  of  Rey- 
nolds^ s,   154 

Reynolds,  Edward  Bassett,  assist- 
ant editor  of  Friend,  310 

Reynolds,  G.  W.  M.,  founder  of 
Reynolds'' s,  152-4 

Reynolds,  W.  B.  (Rathol),  of  Bel- 
fast Evening  Telegraph,  18S 
Reynolds's  Newspaper,  sketch  of, 
152-6;  original  manifesto,  153- 
4 ;  last  to  abandon  hand-set- 
ting, 155;  under  modern 
management,   155-6 


Riach,  Alexander,  editor  of  Edin- 
burgh Evening  Dispatch,   198 

Richards,  John  Morgan,  founder  of 
Sphinx  Club,  335 

Richardson,  Arthur,  advertising 
manager  of  Daily  Chronicle,  75 

Richardson,  Charles,  of  Field,  261 

Richardson,  Samuel,  author  of 
"  Pamela,"   74 

RiddeU,  Sir  George,  characteristic 
traits  of,  132-4;  chief  owner  of 
News  of  the  World,  133;  chair- 
man of  Western  Mail  director- 
ate, 225 ;  director  of  George 
Newnes,  Limited,  289 ;  director 
of  Pearson's,  300 

Rider,  Archibald,  of  Daily  Ex- 
press, 77 

Ritchie,  John,  manager  of  Scots- 
man, 198 

Robbins,  A.  F.,  London  corre- 
spondent of  Birmingham  Daily 
Post,   189 

Robbins,  Edmund,  manager  of  the 
Press  Association,   167-8 

Roberts,  Lord,  founds  Pilgrims' 
Club,  181 

Robertson,  D.  S.,  of  Glasgow 
Evening  News,  199 

Robertson,  J.,  editor  of  Liverpool 
Evening  Express,  208 

Robertson,  W.  B.,  advertisement 
manager  of  the  Amalgamated 
Press,  296 

Robinson,  Fletcher,  former  editor 
of  Daily  Express,  76 

Robinson,  Geoffrey,  editor  of  The 
Times,  26-7 

Robinson,  H.  Perry,  of  Daily 
News,  323 

Robinson,  Sir  John,  his  dual  con- 
trol of  the  Daily  News,  18;  the 
men  after  his  time,  47 

S.,  of  Daily  Sketch, 


Birmingham     Daily 


Robinson,  W. 

91 

Roe,     A.,     of 
Post,  235 

Roome,  Wallace  D.,  of  Daily  Mir- 
ror, 80 

Rorke,   Alfred,    of    Central    News, 
kiUed  in  action,  172 

Rose,  J.   T.,   sub-editor   of  Sunday 
School  Chronicle,  317 

Ross,   D.   B.,  of  Aberdeen  Journal, 
186 


Index 


365 


Ross,  Mr.,  of  The  Times,  leader 
writer  for  Glasgow  Evening 
News,  200 

Ross,  Thomas,  of  Wolverhampton 
Express  and  Star,  234 

Ross,  T.  A.,  of  Belfast  Evening 
Telegraph,  188 

Rossetti,  Christina,  associated  with 
Athenaum,  263 

Rothermere,  Lord,  and  the  New- 
foundland enterprise,  31 ;  and 
•  Daily  Mail,  60;  part  owner  of 
Evening  News,  64  ;  buys  Daily 
Mirror,  80;  acquires  Leeds 
Mercury,  206 ;  with  the  Amal- 
gamated Press,  293 

Rothschild,  the  late  Lord,  anecdote 
of,  6 

Rowntree,  Arnold,  M.P.,  chair- 
man of  North  of  England 
Newspaper  Company,  215,  310 

Rowntree,  John  S.,  editor  of 
Friend,  310 

Rowntree,  Joshua,  M.P.,  editor  of 
Friend,  310 

Royal  Magazine,  300 

Ruskin,  John,  contributor  to 
British  Weekly,  303 

Russel,  Alexander,  editor  of  Scots- 
man, 196 

Russell,  Dr.  Charles  Gilchrist, 
editor  of  Sportsman,  124 ; 
editor  of  Glasgow  Herald,  202 

Russell,  Sir  Edward,  editor  of 
Liverpool  Mercury  and  Post, 
210 

Russell,  Herbert,  war  correspon- 
dent of  Western  Daily  Mer- 
cury,  229 

Russell,  William,  of  Aberdeen  Free 
Press,   185 

Russell,  Sir  VV.   IL,  of  The  Times, 

23 

"Russia,"  Sir  D.  M.  Wallace's, 
281 

Ryce,  J.  J.,  editor  of  Dublin  Even- 
ing II erald  and  Dublin  Satur- 
day Herald,  204 

Sadler,    M.    E.,    associated    with 

AthencEum,    263 
.9/.    ]ames^s   Gazette,    103 
St.   Stephen'' s   Review,   125 
Saintsbury,  George,  contributor  to 

Manchester    Guardian,    213 


"Saki"  (Hector  Munro),  of  By. 
siander,  killed  in  action,  255 

Sala,  George  Augustus,  his  asso- 
ciation with  the  Daily  Tele= 
graph,  42  ;  his  commission  from 
the  Sportsman,  124;  "Note- 
booker  "  of  Illustrated  London 
News,  239 ;  contributor  to 
Truth,    260 

Sampson,  Henry,  "  Pen  dragon  " 
of  Referee,  144-5  '■>  starts  his 
Handbook,    146 

Samsome,   J.,   of  People,    152 

Sandbrook,  J.  A.,  editor  of  Eng- 
lishman (Calcutta),  226;  for- 
merly of   Western  Mail,   226 

Sanders,  Horace,  formerly  of  New 
York   Herald    (Paris),    235 

Sanderson,  F.  R.,  editor  of  Sunday 
Pictorial,   84 

Sandwich,  Earl  of,  of  Exchange 
Telegraph  Company,    178 

Sankey,  Ira  D.,  accounts  in  Chris- 
tian of  his  mission,   305 

Santini,  Pietro  Rogers,  director  of 
Bradbury,    Wilkinson    &    Co., 

Saunders,     William,     founder     of 

Central  News,   168  ;  co-founder 

of  Western  Morning  News  and 

of  Central  Press,  230 
Savage  Club,  36,  112 
Sayce,     Professor,     contributor     to 

Sunday  School  Chronicle,  317 
Sayers,    John,    of    Belfast   Evening 

Telegraph,   187 
Sayers,  Robert,  of  Belfast  Evening 

Telegraph,    187 
Scarff,  W.,  of  Leicester  Daily  Post, 

207 
Scotsman,  196-8;  palatial  offices  of, 

196 ;   centenary   number,    197 
Scott,   C.   P.,  editor  of  Manchester 

Guardian,    212 
Scott,   Clement,   dramatic  critic  of 

Daily  Telegraph,  42  ;  dramatic 

critic  of  Truth,   260 
Scott,  Dixon,  killed   in  action,  207 
Scott,   Georges,  of  Graphic,  249 
Scott,    Robert,    of    Morgan,    Chase 

&   Scott,  304 ;  later  of  Morgan 

&   Scott,   305,   306 
Scott,  Captain  Robert  Falcon,  fate 

of,   and   Central    News,    169 
Scott,  W.  PL,  of  Yorkshire  Post,  2^6 


366 


Index 


Seaman,      Sir      Owen,     editor     of 

Punch,   257 
Searle,   Mr.,  former  owner  of  Sun- 
day   Times,    131 
Senior,  William  ("Red  Spinner"), 

former  editor  of  Field,   261 
Sergeant,    Adeline,    contributor    to 
Sunday  School   Chronicle,   317 
Shackleton's,    Sir    E.    H.,    expedi- 
tions,  72 
Sharp,     Martin,     editor    of     Guar- 
dian,   311 
Shaw,  Bernard,  Star  man,  11 
Shaw,    Sir    James    Dod,    editor    of 
Nottingham      Daily      Ex-press, 
217 
Sheffield    Daily    Telegraph,    219-21 
Sheffield  Independent,   215,   216 
Sheffield    Weekly   Indeperident,    215 
Sheffield  Weekly  Telegraph,  220-1 
Sheldrake,     T.     Swinborne,    editor 

of   Printer^s   Ink,   336 
Shelley,  H.   C,  of  Daily  Graphic, 

253 

Sheppard,  Robert,  manager  of 
Tillotson's  Bureau,   igo 

Sheringham,  H.  T.,  angling  editor 
of  Field,   261 

Shipton,  H.  P.  K.,  of  Guardian, 
312 

Shore,  Canon  Teignmouth,  for- 
merly chief  editor  of  Cassell's, 
278 

Shorter,  Clement,  an  old  Star  man, 
11;  editor  of  Illustrated  Lon- 
don News,  238 ;  how  he  got 
this  appointment,  241-2  ;  sketch 
of  his  journalistic  career,  240-3  ; 
240-3 ;   editor  of  Sphere,  243 

Shuttlewood,  Percy,  of  South  Wales 
Daily  News,  223 

Simington,  John  J.,  manager  of 
Irish    Times,    205 

Simonis,  Frederick,  managing 
director  of  Church  Family 
Newspaper,    307 

Simonis,  H.,  takes  up  journalism, 
2 ;  on  coming  changes,  3 ; 
his  start  in  Fleet  Street,  5 ; 
among  the  Bohemians,  7,  8 ; 
declines  a  fortune,  12 ;  in  the 
hands  of  a  sub-editor,  16;  re- 
fuses to  be  tempted,  33 ;  joins 
directorate  of  Daily  News  and 
Leader,     46 ;      removes     from 


Stonecutter  Street  to  Fleet 
Street,  49 ;  tribute  to  his  assist- 
ants, 57  ;  completes  twenty -one 
years'  service  with  his  papers, 
57;  joins  the  Star,  114;  his 
obligations  to  Sir  George  Rid- 
dell,  133;  his  "Success  in 
Business,"  300;  suffers  the 
pangs  of  Tantalus,  326 ;  a 
good  time,  340,  341 

Simpson,  C.  R.,  editor  of  Sheffield 
Weekly  Telegraph,  221 

Simpson,  William,  war  artist  of 
Illustrated  London  News,   238 

Sims,  George  R.,  "Dagonet"  of 
Referee,   148 

Sketch,  founded  by  Sir  William 
Ingram,  239 ;  story  of  its  start- 
ing, 242 

Skinner,  Walter  R.,  London  com- 
mercial correspondent  of  South 
Wales  Daily  News,  223 

Small,  William,  of  W olverhampton 
Express  and  Star ,  234 

Smellie,  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander,  of 
Sunday   School   Chronicle,    316 

Smith,  A.  G.,  of  Nottingham 
Guardian,  218 

Smith,  Sir  Clarence,  J. P.,  chair- 
man of  Cassell's,  278;  director 
of  Methodist  Recorder,  313 

Smith,  E.  T.,  former  owner  of 
Sunday  Times,  131 

Smith,  E.  Henderson,  with 
Religious  Tract   Society,  315 

Smith,  Egerton,  founder  of  Liver- 
pool Mercury,  209 

Smith,  George,  founds  Pall  Mall 
Gazette,   106 

Smith,  Sir  George,  director  of 
Methodist  Recorder,  313 

Smith,  Sir  George  Adam,  contribu- 
tor to  Sunday  School  Chronicle, 

317 
Smith,    H.    Greenhough,    editor   of 

Strand  Magazine,  287 
Smith,     H.     W.,    night    editor    of 

Daily  News,  55 
Smith,   James   Murray,   editor   and 

manager   of    Glasgow   Eveni7tg 

News,   198 
Smith,     I.ints,     former     editor     of 

Sporting  Life,  122 ;  afterwards 

associate    general    manager    of 

The  Times,  122 


Index 


367 


Smith,    Percy    G.,   assistant  editor 

of  Newsfafer  World,  334 
Smith,    Wareham,    of    Daily    Mail, 

60 
Smurthwaite,  John,  of  South  Wales 

Echo,  223 
Snagge,      Judge,      contributor      to 

Globe,  gS 
Snapshot,  good  word  for  the,  256 
Snelling,   Rev.   Oscar,  the  late,  of 

Swansea,  306 
Somerville,    Peter    J.,   of    Hulton's, 

234 

Somerville,  Roy,  of  Punch,  258 

South  Wales  Daily  News,  222-3 

South  Wales  Daily  Post,  224 

South  Wales  Echo,  222 

Southern  Daily  Mail,  64 

Sparkes,  George,  advertisement 
manager  of  Graphic  and 
Bystander ,   247 

SparkhaU,  J.  G.,  advertisement 
manager  of   Guardian,  312 

Sfeaker,   264 

Spectator,   264 

Spender,  Captain  A.  Edmund, 
managing  editor  of  Western 
Mornitig  Neius,  230 ;  Mayor  of 
Plymouth,  232 ;  member  of 
Moseley  Education  Conmiis- 
sion,  232 

Spender,  Edward,  co-founder  of 
Western  Morning  News,  230 ; 
"Prince  of  the  Lobby,"  231 

Spender,  Harold,  of  the  West- 
minster Gazette,  100;  on  Lon- 
don staff  of  Manchester 
Guardian,  212 

Spender,  J.  A.,  editor  of  West- 
minster Gazette,  99 

S-phere,    243-4 

Sphinx  Club,  335 

Spielmann,  M.  H.,  contributor  to 
the  Westminster  Gazette,  100 

Sporting  Gazette,  266 

Sporting  Life,   12 1-3 

Sporting  Times,  125 

Sportsman,  123-1:; 

Spottiswoode,  Hugh,  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Sphere,  243 ; 
founder  of  Printers^  Pie,  246 

Springfield,  George,  formerly  of 
Financial  Times,    116 

Springfield,  Jessie,  assistant  editor 
of  London  Opinion,  272 


Springfield,  Lincoln,  chief  reporter 
on  Star,  114;  editor  of  London 
Opinion,  talks  of  his  paper, 
270-2 

Spurgeon,  Arthur,  J. P.,  on  staff  of 
Eastern  Daily  Press,  194; 
chairman  of  Western  News- 
paper Company,  228 ;  general 
manager  to  Cassell's,  276 ;  his 
unique  feat  in  connection  with 
the  Volturno,  278 ;  revolution- 
ises the  popular  magazines, 
283 ;  his  wayzgoose  presenta- 
tion, 2S3-4 ;  chairman  of  the 
Croydon  County  Bench,  284 

Spurgeon,  Rev.  C.  H.,  his  sermons 
in  Christian  World,  307 

Spurll,  A.  J.,  of  Bristol  Evening 
Times  and  Echo,   190 

Stainer,  Sir  John,  contributor  to 
Guardian,  312 

Stainforth,  J.  M.,  cartoonist  of 
Western  Mail,  2.i(i 

Standard,  offspring  of  the  Evening 
Standard,    103 ;    changes,    103, 

Standring,  Will,  of  Hulton's,  234 
Standring,  W.  A.,  of  Motor  Trader, 

Stanley,  Sir  H.  M.,  and  the  Daily 
Telegraph,  41  ;  and  the  New 
York  Herald,  318-9 

Stanley,  T.  T.,  of  Birmingham 
Gazette,  216 

Stanley  News,  215 

Star,  the  home  of  the  modern  popu- 
lar press  in  London,  9 ; 
graduates,  10;  distinguished 
members  of  staff,  ii;  started 
by  "T.  P.,"  109;  under  con- 
trol of  Ernest  Parke,  no; 
publishing  arrangements  of, 
in;  galaxy  of  "stars,"  112-4 

Starmer,  C.  W.,  of  the  North  of 
England  Newspaper  Co.,  215; 
his  journals,  2115,  216 

Stead,  W.  T.,  his  "Modern  Baby- 
lon "  articles  in  Pall  Mall 
Gazette,  68,  106 ;  writes  for  the 
Westminster  Gazette,  100 ; 
editor  of  Pall  Mall  Gazette, 
106;  on  Northern  Echo,  214; 
starts  Review  of  Reviews,  287 

Steed,  Wickham,  of  The  Times, 
23 


368 


Index 


Stembridge,     G.     E.,    manager    of 

Sheffield  Telegraph,  221 
Stephen,   Sir  J.   F.,  contributor  to 

Pall  Mall  Gazette,   108 
Stephens,     F.     G.,     art    critic    of 

AthencEjim,  263 
Stephens,    J.    R.,    of    South    Wales 

Daily  News,  223 
Stephenson,  A.   F.,  J. P.,   108 
Stephenson,    George,   of   Pall  Mall 

Gazette,   108 
Stevenson,     Robert     Louis,     about 

"Treasure   Island,"    280;   other 

books    published    through    Cas- 

sell's,      280 ;      contributor      to 

British  Weekly,  303 
Stewart,    Andrew    W.,    of    Belfast 

Evening  Telegrafh,   187 
Stirling,  A.   W.,  director  of  Pear- 
son's, 300 
Stock      Exchange      and      financial 

journalism,   117 
Stock    Quotation    Telegraph    Com- 
pany  in  alliance  with   Central 

News,  173 
Stock,  J.  A.,  of  Amalgamated  Press, 

296 
Stoddart,  Jane  T.,  assistant  editor 

of   British   Weekly,   303 
Stoddart,     Dr.     J.     H.,     editor    of 

Glasgow  Herald,  202 
Stone,  H.    Slater,  managing  editor 

of  Bristol  Evening  Times  and 

Echo,  190 
Stone,  W.  G.  R.,  of  Worcestershire 

Echo,  235 
Stonecutter    Street,    original    home 

of  Star,  III 
Stopford,    Francis,   editor  of  Land 

and  Water,  268 
Story-Teller,  success  of,  283 
Strachey,    J.     St.    Loe,    editor    of 

Sfectator,  264;  owner  of  Land 

and  Water ,  266 
Straight,    Sir  Douglas,  contributor 

to    Glohe,    98;    editor    of    Pall 

Mall  Gazette,  \ai 
Straight-line  press,  138 
Strand      Magazine,      starting      of, 

287 
Street  of  Ink,  -passim 
Street,    G.    S.,    contributor    to    St. 

Jameses  Gazette,  103 
Stuart,   Professor  James,  chairman 

of  the  Star  directorate,  12;  his 


encouragement  of  his  men,  13; 
his  leaders,  14 

Sub-editor,  the  old,  15-6 

Suez  Canal  shares,  how  Britain  ac- 
quired the,  106 

Sullivan,  W.  C,  of  Birmingham 
Daily  Mail,  190 

Sun,  founded  by  "T.  P.,"  63; 
under  H.  Bottomley  and  then 
W.  T.  Madge,  94 

Sunday  at  Home,  314 

Sunday  Chronicle,  86,  92 

Siinday  Co?npanion,  294 

Sunday  Evening  Telegram,  156 

Sunday  Herald,  90-1 

Sunday  Independent,  first  Irish 
Sunday  paper,  204 

Sunday  Pictorial,  83-5  ;  a  record  in 
journalism,  84;  some  of  its 
hits,  84 

Sunday  School  Chronicle,  315 

Sunday  School  Union,  315,  316 

Sunday  Special  incorporated  with 
Sunday  Times,  132 

Sunday  Times,  sketch  of  its  his- 
tory, 129-32 

Sutcliffe,  Tom,  of  Sunday  Herald, 
92 

Sutherland,  D.  M.,  editor  of  Even- 
ing Standard,  105 ;  editor  of 
Pall  Mall  Gazette,  108 ;  editor 
of  Sheffield  Daily  Telegraph, 
221 

Sutton,  G.  A.,  director  of  the  Daily 
Mail,  60;  chairman  of  the 
Amalgamated  Press,  292 ;  his 
power  of  work,  297 

Sutton,  Garwood  H.,  news  editor 
of  W astern  Mail,  225 

Swaffer,  Hannen,  editor  of  Weekly 
Dispatch,  141  ;  his  previous  ap- 
pointments, 142 

Swan,  Annie  S.,  290,  303 

Sweated      Industries      Exhibition, 

.  53 

Swinburne,  Algernon  Charles,  asso- 
ciated with  AthencEum ,  263 

Sykes,  James,  of  Yorkshire  Post, 
236 

Symon,  J.  D.,  of  Sphere,  246 

Symons,  Arthur,  associated  with 
Athenceuyn,  263 

Synge,  J.  M.,  contributor  to  Man- 
chester Guardian,  213 

System,  a  business  monthly,  336 


Index 


369 


Tabloid  journalism,  127 

Tape    machine    introduced    into    a 

London  newspaper  office,  96 
Tariff  Reform  cartoons,  255 
Tasker,      Rev.      Dr.,      director      of 

Methodist  Recorder,  313 
Tatler,  255-6 
Taylor,   B.   C,  of  the  Daily  News, 

57 
Taylor,   John   Edward,   founder   of 

Manchester  Guardian,  211 
Tebbutt,   Edward,  editor  of  North 

Mail,  213 
Technical  and  Trade  Press,  331-8 
Telford,    J.,    connexional   editor    of 

Methodist  Recorder,  313 
Temple,   the  associations  of,  325 
Temple,  M.  H.,  at  the  Globe,  98 
Temps,  Le,  222 
"  Testudo,"  335 
Thirtle,  Dr.  J.  W.,  assistant  editor 

of   Christian,   305 
Thomas,  Bert,  cartoonist  of  London 

Opinion,  272 
Thomas,    Carmichael,   chairman    of 

H.   R.   Baines  &  Co.,  247;  his 

story  of  the  early   days  of  the 

Daily  Graphic,  251 
Thomas,    Captain   Dale,   art  editor 

of  Daily  Graphic,  253 
Thomas,  D.  Watkin,  general  mana- 
ger of  Western  Mail,  225 
Thomas,   F.   W.,  humorist  of  Star, 

"5 
Thomas,    H.    T.,    of    South    Wales 

Daily  News,  222 

Thomson,  Prof.  J.  Arthur,  con- 
tributor to  Sunday  School 
Chronicle,  317 

Thomas,  Keith  J.,  of  the  Daily 
News,  57 

Thomas,  VV.  L.,  chief  founder  of 
Graphic,  247 

Thompson,  W.  M.,  editor  of  Rey- 
nolds^ s,  154 

Thornton,  H.  W.,  general  manager 
of  Great  Eastern  Railway, 
194 

Thornton,  J.  E.,  of  Yorkshire  Post, 
236 

Thorp,  Joseph,  associated  with 
Athenaum,   263 

Thorpe,  VVinton,  of  London  News 
Agency,  179;  head  of  Food 
Controller's  Press  Bureau,  181 


Tilby,  A.  Wyatt,  editor  of  Evening 
Standard,   105 

Tillett,  Jacob  Henry,  editor  of 
Norfolk  News,  193 

Tillotson's  Syndicate,  Bolton,  190 

Tillyer,  E.  G.,  chief  engineer  of 
Exchange  Telegraph  Company, 
178 

Times,  The,  cast-iron  rules  of  the 
old  regime,  5  ;  current  history 
of,  23-32 ;  present  manager  of, 
24  ;  present  editor  of,  26  ;  under 
John  Walter  the  Second,  27  ;^ 
the  production  of,  28 ;  the 
period  of  decline,  29-30 ;  con- 
trolling power  of,  acquired  by 
Lord  Northcliffe,  30-1  ;  special 
features  of,  32 

Times  Book  Club,  30 

Tissot,  J.  J.  J.,  contributor  to 
Graphic,  248 

Tit-Bits,  romance  of  its  start, 
285-6 ;  its  railway  insurance 
policy,  287 

To-Day,  275 

Tole,  Cyril,  of  Leicester  Daily 
Post,  207 

Tolmie,  Duncan  G.,  director  of 
Bradbury,    Wilkinson    &    Co., 

329 
Tourtel,   H.    B.,   of  Daily  Express, 

11 

Townsend,  F.  H.,  art  editor  of 
Punch,  257 

"T.P."     See  O'Connor,  T.  P. 

T.P:s  Weekly,  340 

Trade  and  Technical  Press,  331-8 

TraiU,  H.  D.,  43 

"Treasure  Island,"  2S0 

Tribune,  a  brilliant  failure,  103 

"Tristram"  of  Referee,  148 

Truth,  258-60 

Turnbull,  G.,  Parliamentary  corre- 
spondent    of     Daily     Graphic, 

Turner,     Alfred,    acting    editor    of 

Evening  N ews,  66 
Turner,    Neil,    general   manager   of 

Daily    Chronicle    and    Lloyd'' s 

News,  75 
Turnovers  of  the  Globe,  98 
Tylor,      Charles,      first     editor     of 

Friend,  310 
Tynan,    Katharine,    contributor    to 

British  Weekly,  303 


370 


Index 


Ulster  Echo,  224 
Umpire,  86,  92 

United  Newspapers,  Limited,  70,  75 
Upward,     H.,     editor     of     Church 
Family  Newspafer,  307,  308 

Van  Anroy,  war  artist  of  Graphic, 

249 
Vanity   Fair,    acquired    by    W.    R. 

Hearst,  319 
"  V'anoc  "  of  Referee,  146 
Varwell,      J.      H.,      of      Liverpool 

Courier,  208 
Vaux,    Rev.    J.    E.,    his   momentous 

article       in       Church       Times, 

308-9 
Vtcioire,  La,  2,22. 
Victoria  Street,  Liverpool's  "  Street 

of  Ink,"  207 
ViUiers,    Frederic,     war     artist     of 

Graphic,  23S 
Vizetelly,     Henry,    and    Illustrated 

London  News,  238 
Volturno,     Arthur     Spurgeon's    ac- 
count   of    the    burning    of    the, 

278 
Voules,  Horace,  manager  of  Truth, 

258 ;  former  manager  of  Echo, 

259 ;      unappointed     editor     of 

Truth,  259 

Waddy,  Samuel  T.,  afterwards 
Judge,  one  of  first  directors  of 
Methodist  Recorder,  312 

Walker,  Sir  Edward  Daniel,  ac- 
quires Northern  Echo,  214 

Walker,  Jack,  cartoonist  of  Daily 
Graphic,  253 

Walker,  James  A.,  of  South  Wales 
Daily  News,  223 

Walkley,  A.  B.,  an  old  Star  man, 
II 

W'all,  Arthur  J.,  London  repre- 
sentative of  Independent  News- 
papers, Limited,  204 

Wallace,  A.  S.,  publisher  of 
Odhams,  274 

Wallace,  Sir  Donald  Mackenzie,  his 
book  on  "  Russia,"  2S1 

Wallace,  Dr.  W'illiam,  editor  of 
Glasgow  Herald,   202 

Walling,  R.  A.  J.,  editor  of  West- 
ern Daily  Mercury ,  229 

Walling,  Robert  Horwill,  editor  of 
Western  Daily  Mercury,  227 


Walter  the  Second,  John,  of  The 
Times,  25 ;  the  inventor  of 
modern  journalism,  27;  ex- 
amples of  his  enterprise,  28 

War  Illustrated,  297 

Warburton,  John,  of  Daily 
Graphic,  248 

Ware,  Fabian,  35 

Warmington,  F.  W.,  of  Sunday 
School  Union,  316 

Warner,  P.  F.,  cricket  correspon- 
dent  for    Westminster    Gazette, 

lOI 

Warren,  Harold,  of  the  Daily 
News,  55 

Warren,  Thomas,  founder  of  Bir- 
mingham Journal,  188 

Warren,  W.,  "Orion"  of  Daily 
Express,  77 

Waters,  James,  of  Weekly  Dis- 
patch, 144 

Watson,  A.  E.,  manager  of  Cas- 
sell's  book  department,  279 

Watson,  Alfred  E.  T.,  "  Gareth " 
of  Referee,   147 

Watson,  Alfred  H.,  manager  of 
Westminster  Gazette,  102 

Watson,  Charles,  of  Hull  Daily 
Mail,  203 

Watson,  Gilbert,  lobbyist  of  York- 
shire Post,  236 

Watson,  J.  A.  ("Flambeau"),  of 
Belfast  Evening  Telegraph,  187 

Watson,  J.  B.,  manager  of  Method- 
ist Recorder,  313 

Watson,  J.  P.,  news  editor  of  Even- 
ing Standard,  105 

Watson,  W. ,  gardening  editor  of 
Field,  262 

Watt,  Edward  W.,  of  Aberdeen 
Free  Press,  185 

Watt,  William,  of  Aberdeen  Free 
Press,   185 

Watts-Dunton,  Theodore,  asso- 
ciated with  Athenaum,  263 

Webb,  F.  Gilbert^  "  Lancelot  "  of 
Referee,  147 

Week-end,   143 

Weekly  Budget,  acquired  by  W.  R. 
Hearst,  319;  closed  suddenly, 
320 

Weekly  Dispatch,  sketch  of  the  new 
form  of,  141-4;  the  older  issue 
of  the  paper,  144-5  '■>  acquired 
by  Sir  George  Newnes,  146 


Index 


371 


Weekly  Irish  Times,  206 
Weekly  Mail  (Cardiff),  225 
Weekly  Mercury  (Plymouth),  229 
Weekly  Times,  32 
Wells,    Charles,    of    Bristol    Times 

and  Mirror,  191 
Wells,    H.    G.,   contributor  to  Sun- 
day Herald,  90 ;  contributor  to 
Truth,      260 ;      serial      in     the 
Nation,  265 
Western  Daily  Mercury,  226-30 
Western  Evening  Herald,  228,  230 
Western  Mail  (Cardiff),  225-6 
Western  Morning  Nezvs,  230-3 
Western  Newspaper  Company,  227 
W estern  Weekly  News,  232 
Westminster    Gazette,    founded    by 
Sir    George    Newnes,    99;    its 
cartoons,    99 ;     distinctive    fea- 
tures,   loo-i ;    its    writers    and 
achievements,     loo-i  ;     why     a 
green    paper,    102 ;    pioneer    of 
pictures  in  the  evening  Press, 
102 
Wetton,  George,  of  Daily  Exfress, 

11 
Wheeler,    H.    J.,    of    South    Wales 

Daily  News ,  222 
Wheeler,     H.      W.,     of     Financial 

News,   120 
Whiff  en,   T.,    of  Land  and   Water, 

26S 
White,       Arnold,       "  Vanoc "       of 

Referee,  146 
White,   G.   v.,  of  Financial  News, 

121 
White,  W.   Holt,  formerly  of  West- 
ern Mail,  226 
Whitefoot,  T.   H.,  former  editor  of 

Sportsman,    125 
Whitefriars        Street,        newspaper 

offices  in,  140 
Whiteing,   Richard,   contributor   to 

Manchester  Guardian,  213 
Whitehouse,    G.    E.,    editor   of   hn- 

fressions,  332 
Whitelaw,     George,     cartoonist     of 

Glasgow   Evening   News,    200 ; 

artist  on  Passing  Show,  200 
Whitfield,    Plenry,    editor   of   West- 
ern  Daily  Mercury,   227 
Whittaker,   Meredith  T.,   chairman 

of  Press  Association,   168 
Whittemore,    Rev.    John,    projector 

of  Christian  World,  306 


Whittick,  H.  J.,  of  Wolverhamp- 
ton  Exfress  and  Star,  234 

Wilkin,  A.  Walters,  of  Land  and 
Water,  26S 

Wilkinson,  P.  Wiknot,  chairman  of 
Bradbury,    Wilkinson    &    Co., 

329 
Wilkinson,    R.    W.,    co-founder    of 
Bradbury,    Wilkinson    &    Co., 

329 
Wilkinson,      Spenser,    of    Morning 

Post,   35 ;    on    London    staff   of 

Manchester  Guardian,  213 
Will,    William,    former    editor    of 

Sporting  Life,  22  ;  manager  of 

H.  R.  Baines  &  Co.,  247 
Williams,  J.  D.,  editor  of  Cambria 

Daily  Leader,    192 
Williams,    Llewellyn,    M.P.,    K.C., 

formerly  of  the  Star,   112 
Williamson,  David,  246 
Williamson,     Stephen,     of     Belfast 

Evenitig   Telegraph,    188 
Wilson,    Sir     Frederick,     and     the 

start    of    the   Morning   Leader, 

10;  founder  and  editor  of  East 

Anglian     Daily     Times,      194; 

M.P.    for    Mid    Norfolk,    195; 

his     journalistic     experiences, 

195 
Wilson,   H.   W.,  leader  writer  and 

director  of  Daily  Mail,   61 
Wilson,    J.    B.,   of    Daily   Express, 

17 
Wilson,      P.      W.,      Parliamentary 

correspondent     of     the     Daily 

News,       56 ;       contributor      to 

Christian,  306 
Wireless  Press,  172 
Wisdom,  Henry,  of  art  department 

of  Sphere,  246 
Wisema,n,      F.      L.,      director      of 

Methodist    Recorder,    313 
Witness,   224 
Wladimiroff,    M.    J.,   war   artist  of 

Graphic,    249 
Wodehousc,    P.    G.,   at   the    Globe, 

98 
Wolverhampton  Express  and  Star, 

233 

Woman  at  Home  and  Girl's  Realm, 
290 

Woman's  Magazine,  314 ;  amalga- 
mated with  Girl's  Own  Paper, 
314 


372 


Index 


Wood,     Alexander,     of     Aberdeen 

Journal,    i86 
Woodgate,    W.    B.,    rotving    editor 

of  Field,   261 
Woods,    Henry,    R.A.,    contributor 

to  Graphic,  248 
Woodward,    H.,    lobbyist   of   South 

Wales  Daily  News,  223 
W'oodward,  W.  A.,  editor  of  Even- 
ing Standard,  105 
Worboise,  Emma  Jane,  contributor 

to   Christian  World,  307 
Worcester  Herald,  235 
Worcestershire  Chronicle,  235 
Worcestershire   Echo,    235 
World,  The,   335 
World's  Work,  332 
Wright,     H.     C.     Seppings,     war 

artist    of    Illustrated    London 

News,    238 


Wroughton,     E.     H.,     of     London 

News   Agency    Photos.,    180 
Wyndham,  Saxe,  of  Bystander,  254 

Yates,     Edmund,    on     Labouch  -re 

and   Truth,   258 
Yates,   Rev.   H.    S.    B.,  late  c   itor 

of    Sunday    School    Chronicle, 

316 
Yellow  Press,  The,  319,  321 
Yorkshire  Gazette,  215 
Yorkshire  Observer,   234 
Yorkshire  Post,    235-7 
Yorkshire  Telegrafh  and  Star,  220, 

221 
Young,       Thomas,       director       of 

Cassell's,    279 

ZiMMERN,    A.    E.,    associated    with 
Athensum,  263 


Printed  by  Cassell  &  Compavv,  Limited,  La  Belle  Sauvage,  London,  E.G.,  4. 

10.317 


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